Keep a Watchful Eye
by starlesscity
Summary: Naruto gets severely injured saving Sasuke’s life on a mission.He's still in the hospital three weeks after the incident;the only way he’s allowed out is if someone takes care of him.Sasuke is offering himself up for the task,but what's the catch?SasuNaru
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer:** The list of things I own are regrettably slim and nowhere on that piece of paper is there anything to do with the possession of the Naruto characters. They belong on a much bigger list that is not only unfortunately hard to steal but comes with a big, fat, heterosexual stamp on it. Life sucks that way.

**Full Summary:** Naruto gets severely injured saving Sasuke's life on a mission and even with his healing he's still in the hospital three weeks after the incident. The only way he can be allowed out is if someone's willing to take care of him. Sasuke may just be offering himself up for the task - but what's the catch?

**Pairing List:** Sasuke/Naruto

**Chapters:** 1/8

**Updates:** Each chapter should be posted every four days after the previous one unless outside interference prevents me from reaching the internet/computer to upload it.

**Beta:** "In eighteen years precisely the planets will align ever so nicely…" – "Aye, verse." WAIT, WHAT! I'm sorry; I was distracted, by my beta. But that's okay, since it's her a/n anyway. So let's all celebrate and give thanks to the awesomeness that is Lady Ivvy! She's so fast and so efficient that she's going to have me running out of work to give her soon D: But regardless of that, everyone applaud her and give her awesome shit, yeah? Please and thank you! Lol.

**A/N:** Well, it sure has been a while since I've posted something, hasn't it? I suppose I could spout some crap about real life getting in the way - which, yeah, that's true - but it's not like I promised anything at a specific time (and you probably all know what it's like when fanfiction has to take a backseat) so I don't think I'll do that. Let's just settle with the fact that I have something for you now and deal with the next sizable break when it comes, yes?

Now; to the more important notes that regard this story - which, in all honesty, didn't start out with any actual plan. I just wanted to write some kind of Sasuke/Naruto and then it was suddenly spiralling out of control as paragraph after paragraph formed dragging a selection of plots to go with it. The idea that I have for this one now is… okay, perhaps little cliché, but I really don't care. I've always kind of wanted to do an Injured!Naruto and NurseMaid!Sasuke fic, so, here it is.

I hope my story will be at least a little different and not a complete bore. I suppose the fact that any Sasuke/Naruto is good will help - but to feel better in myself, I tried to add some more substance to it. I don't have much else to say about this other than the fact I hope you like it. So, yeah. Let me know?

I would also like to add a few**important notes** (edited in on the 05/04/10 or 04/05/10) that FlyingTackle informed me weren't in this (or chapter two's) A/N and should have been.

**Number one;** Sasuke has in fact been in Sound/away/etc and has come back. This will be covered more strongly in the later chapters, but I just wanted you to know. (Oh and on a similar vein, you can probably tell it's largely AU since, oh hey, he's actually on Konoha's side. But whatever.) **Number two;** Sasuke, Naruto, etc are all about seventeen/eighteen in this story and **Number three;** If Sasuke seems rather OOC so far it's because it's a part of the story. I'm trying to keep him mostly in character (as I see fit) but there are large fluctuations (hence Naruto's comments of: "Why is he acting so weird?") that are a part of the story and his ~feelings. So I hope you can bear with me on that.

That should be all, but if anyone has any other questions or something, feel free to ask me in a review, I'll try and answer them as best I can, and if I think they're relevant enough for all readers to see, I'll add them here as well.

Thank you and enjoy.

* * *

_Chapter 1_

Everything hurt. That was the extent of what Naruto's brain could currently comprehend; anything else was easily shoved aside to make way for that blaring piece of information. Everything _fucking_ _**hurt**_.

Naruto wanted to groan over how much pain his body was currently making him suffer through; it felt worse than when Sasuke had shoved that Chidori through his chest. He also wanted to curse - with Sasuke being the main subject of his anger as it was a natural reaction by now - but the long ingrained lessons of Shinobi survival refused to let him utter a sound or even twitch.

Keeping his breathing even, he tried to focus on the smells and noise around him, trying to remember where he was and how the hell he had gotten there.

The memories were slow to begin their return, coming in dribs and drabs as the mission he'd had with Sasuke came back to him.

_- Flashback -_

_They'd gone to Lightning Country to steal a scroll that some bandits had managed to get a hold of. It was meant to be routine, but unknown to their intelligence the bandit's leader was a missing Rock nin and had caused them some trouble._

_They'd managed to kill off most of the bandits and had taken the scroll before beating a hasty retreat since they were outnumbered and also ill prepared for a ninja of his caliber._

_They hadn't managed to get far back into Fire Country before the ninja and his friends caught up with them and a battle began. They'd managed to kill off most of them easily enough until only the Rock nin and a few bleeding bandits were left. Naruto had been finishing off the last of the bandits when some innate sense had gone off and he'd glanced over to check on Sasuke._

_The Rock ninja was holding him tightly - using a massive amount of his chakra to do it - as one of the bandits that Naruto hadn't realised was left standing held up a sword; it gleamed an unnatural green despite there being very little light to allow the effect. It was at that moment that Naruto could fully understand what Sasuke had said to him on the bridge when they were children._

"**My body moved on its own**."

_In one second Naruto was throwing a bandit to the side with a kunai lodged in his stomach. The next he was in front of Sasuke, a sword ripping through his chest and pain overtaking his senses. He saw the surprise register on the bandit's face as his body shut down, allowing him to view things somewhat mutely as he collapsed to his knees. The movement took the sword with him as it slipped uselessly out of the bandit's still stunned grasp._

_He could barely remember what happened after that as his mind started to slow with something more than pain and blood loss. What he knew logically wouldn't have been more than five minutes felt like hours before Sasuke was bent in front of him. Sasuke's face had been pure panic as he said things Naruto couldn't hear. Sasuke had ripped out the sword than but Naruto couldn't feel it as his eyes fell with Sasuke's to look at the weapon._

_A part of his mind - that sounded so much like a lecturing Sakura - translated what he saw into something he could understand. The blade was littered with symbols and was not only chakra but poison enhanced. He knew than that this wouldn't be particularly quick or easy death._

_Sasuke gently touched his cheek, making Naruto focus on him. His face was blank, but Sasuke's eyes were still fearful when he spoke again, but Naruto couldn't seem to hear him. He wanted to calm his usually stoic friend though, so he tried to smile- but before he knew it, he had fallen forward into Sasuke's arms and unconsciousness._

_- End Flashback -_

Mulling over the information, Naruto could come to the somewhat comforting conclusion that at least he wasn't dead. His nose and ears were starting to catch up with his brain and he picked up the telltale signs of a hospital. The room he was in seemed to be quiet though, and he could only conclude he'd been out of it for a _long_ time if he was moved to one of the lesser used wings.

Not feeling particularly comforted by that thought, he decided to try to get his eyes to open so he could survey his surroundings and possibly find a way to get someone's attention. He _hated_ hospitals, especially when he was as confused about his health - and what had happened - as he was.

Forcing his eyelids to cooperate through sheer force of will, he managed to snap them open. He scrunched them closed a moment later as the bright lights burned his retinas, making him hold back a hiss. Ignoring this other part of his body that was joining the 'aches and pains' list, he blinked a few times until he could look around the room without flinching.

The first thing he was able to confirm was that he was indeed in one of the lesser used wards of the Konoha hospital. There were at least five other patients in the room with him, so he could only assume that while his injury was bad, it wasn't overly life-threatening and that he hadn't been out for too long - even if this reaction to an injury was a little unusual and worrying by his body's standards.

Continuing to dart his eyes around - like fuck he was attempting to move his neck at this point - he took a quick glance at himself, wondering if he could spot any obvious bandages or injuries, but his thoughts screeched to a stunned halt as he found, laying with their head just beside his left thigh, was a fast asleep Sasuke Uchiha.

Gaping slightly at the other man, Naruto completely ignored the fact that his jaw was aching from the small movement as he was too focused on the fact that _Sasuke_ was sleeping by his bed. That _Sasuke_ was keeping a - somewhat - vigilant seat at his bedside and that _Sasuke_ was looking like he hadn't slept - or showered - properly in the last forty-eight hours.

_What the hell!_

Naruto allowed himself a few moments to just stare in bewilderment at his - loosely acknowledged - best friend while trying to think up a legitimate reason for the other to be sleeping by his feet.

After almost two minutes of staring - and slight concern that Sasuke hadn't woken up at feeling eyes on him - he could only conclude that Sasuke had been taking a long string of missions while he'd been unconscious and on his - possibly forced - visit, he'd fallen asleep from exhaustion. It was the best Naruto could come up with, and with his worry for his own health starting to push more forcefully at the back of his mind, he finally allowed his contemplation of Sasuke to be shelved for the moment.

Opening his mouth, he did his best to speak, his voice coming out a rough croak, "Sas-uke?"

The reaction was instantaneous as Sasuke suddenly shot into a sitting position. His eyes and face became emotionless but for the guarded look to them. Naruto was almost relieved at seeing something so familiar, with his last memory of Sasuke being that terror-filled scene.

His relief however, was short lived as Sasuke seemed to finally register _he_ was the one to have spoken. His eyes widened slightly and Naruto swore he saw Sasuke's whole posture lose a large amount of tension.

"_Naruto_," he practically whispered, eyes locked on the blonde's as a million emotions seemed to pass through his eyes, making Naruto blink at him. His confusion and worry for Sasuke was beginning to double.

He tried to express his concern without killing his parched throat. "What, ha-happened?"

Suddenly all the seemingly softness of Sasuke's features was gone and in its place came anger; hot and scolding anger that was focused on Naruto in the form of one of his _deadliest_ glares. Naruto would have flinched if he wasn't so sure his body would be wracked with pain from it.

"You fucking _idiot_!" Sasuke all but snarled, "How fucking dare you go in front of me and in the path of that fucking sword! What the hell possessed you to do such a retarded thing like that! Do you have _any_ idea how close you came to fucking _dying_? I had to drag your sorry ass all the way back to Konoha where they barely had enough time to inject all the antidotes to the poisons littering that blade! They could barely keep you in a stable condition for the first three days!"

Naruto was staring wide-eyed by the time the Uchiha had finished his rant. He was standing up and leaning slightly over the hospital bed, looking all the more menacing as his Sharingan blazed fiercely in his eyes. Naruto could only look at him with shock as one thought went through his mind. _I must have really scared him to make him swear that much_.

Sasuke only further proved Naruto's theory as he sunk back down into his chair, eyes fading back to their usual colour as he looked at Naruto with the closest thing to helplessness Naruto was sure anyone would ever see.

They were silent for a long moment, Naruto unsure what to say and Sasuke most likely brooding over everything he'd just blurted out. Suddenly he stood up, startling Naruto slightly.

"I'm going to get a nurse," he said tersely.

Sasuke hadn't taken more than three steps when Naruto spoke up, his voice still a rasp, "Sasuke." The other paused and tilted his head minutely to look at the blonde from the corner of his eye. Naruto wasn't even sure what he wanted to say, so he settled with an awkward and wholly inadequate solution, "Did you give Tsunade the scroll?"

Sasuke's eyes flashed and his lips formed a thin, tight line. "Yes."

Without another word he was out of the room, leaving Naruto to stare at the door. He suddenly felt weary as he turned his gaze to the wall on the opposite side of the room. He kind of just wanted to go back into the land of unconsciousness; it was looking much less hassling than his life was about to become.

**-break-**

Naruto had actually been starting to doze despite the continued ache in his limbs, when the door banged open, making him flinch and screw up his eyes. His body trembling from pain as he sunk his teeth into his bottom lip. _Why the fuck does everything hurt if I was stabbed through the _chest_?_

"Brat. You awake?" Tsunade's voice asked, cutting through the haze of mind-numbing pain.

"Fucking, _ow_," was all he managed to get out before grinding his teeth again; it felt like he was getting hit by multiple senbon and shuriken - from the inside out.

He felt a hand on his forehead and he almost jerked back from the touch; her hand was so cold. She sighed above him, and even though her words were brazen, he could hear the worry and sympathy under them.

"Worst is yet to come, brat. Your body's got about six different toxins in it and most of them will have lingering effects even after your body's flushed them out with fever. It'll probably take a month to fully recover - even with your healing." He opened his eyes into slits to stare at her; Tsunade's face was drawn into a tight frown. "You're extremely lucky to be alive."

Naruto did his best to summon up a smile as he answered, "So I've heard."

She seemed to relax slightly at his attempt and she let a glare slip on her face. "Always have to make things difficult, don't you? Damn, kid."

Grunting a reply while screwing up his face, he felt small shivers wrack his frame, which only brought about a new wave of pain. God, he hoped she'd give him something to get rid of this. Hell, he'd take a punch to the head at this point - anything to dull it would be fantastic right about now.

"Can't you give him anything to make him sleep?" Naruto heard Sasuke ask with some amount of annoyance in his voice. He mentally praised and thanked the Uchiha for voicing the query.

Tsunade's answer however, made his heart sink. "We don't know what will adversely affect his system, so for the time being… he'll just have to tough his way through it."

Opening his eyes, Naruto glared at her as best he could. "I hate you."

She glanced at him, and a small smile twitched at her lips. "Brat," but instead of saying more like he expected her to, she turned to Sasuke and said, "You've been here every night anyway, so I hardly doubt you'll mind making it official." She looked between the two of them with equal intensity, "Watch him."

Sasuke barely got the time to give a curt nod before she was walking past him and disappearing back into the bowels of the hospital. _Huh_. Naruto thought while looking back at Sasuke. _He's been here the whole time?_

Keeping his eyes on the other as Sasuke sat back down on the chair by Naruto's bed. Naruto waited for the last wave of pain to dull down enough that he could push the screaming of his body far, far away before speaking. "Get me some water, bastard."

His voice still sounded scratchy and it was also a lot weaker than usual; if Sasuke noticed, he didn't comment on it. Reaching over to the tray-table, Sasuke grabbed a cup and held it to Naruto's lips, the usual barb slipping out from habit alone when some water started to roll down his chin. "Tch. Idiot."

Naruto held down his smile as he drank half of the small cup. When Sasuke removed it to place it back on the table, Naruto started debating whether or not to start a conversation or just try and go to sleep. Sitting back down in his seat, the Uchiha surprised him by speaking first, "Go to sleep."

A spark of anger flared to life inside Naruto, and before he could stop it, the reply was slipping out, "What if I don't want to?"

Sasuke looked at him with exasperation. "Did you even hear what the Hokage said? You need all the damn rest you can get."

And didn't that just bring to mind a question that overrode his need to argue with Sasuke. "Hey, how long was out for?"

Something that Naruto couldn't identify passed across Sasuke's face and the Uchiha tensed visibly in his seat. It took him a few moments before he was able to relax himself and reply, "I brought you back to Konoha two weeks ago, but there was an extra two days travelling where you wouldn't wake up."

Naruto gaped slightly at Sasuke. "Holy shit. That's just… _insane_. What the hell was on that blade?" Naruto paused, frowning. "Hey, wait. If I was unconscious for that long, why the hell should I still need to sleep?"

"To heal, dumbass," Sasuke snapped out.

Naruto almost rolled his eyes, but managed to stop himself at the last second, he figured it would probably only make things worse. "Well, I'm not tired."

"Just go to sleep."

A small, indignant frown formed on Naruto's face. "No, you can't make me, asshole."

"_Naruto_." His name so rarely used by Sasuke and said in such a harsh and almost strained voice made him pay instant attention. "I… I don't want you getting _worse_."

Eyes widening, Naruto looked at Sasuke with a healthy dose of shock swimming in his blue irises. _Sasuke... cared?_

"Sasuke…" Naruto murmured before trailing off, not even sure what he wanted to say to him.

"Just go to sleep, Naruto." Sasuke said tiredly, not looking at him as his posture faintly slumped.

It took a few moments of consideration, but this time Naruto decided not to argue, and with one more puzzled glance at Sasuke, he let his eyes close.

* * *

**A/N:** So this is the first chapter: what do you think? Love it? Hate it? Got a critique about it? Well you've come to the right place!

See that little review button at the bottom centre of the screen? Just click that and all your thoughts - with the help of a keyboard - can be sent straight to me, the author - for my reading, dissecting and replying pleasure. Isn't this a great piece of sophisticated technology? Why don't you try it out? I'd love to hear from you. *innocent smile*


	2. Chapter 2

**Disclaimer:** The list of things I own are regrettably slim and nowhere on that piece of paper is there anything to do with the possession of the Naruto characters. They belong on a much bigger list that is not only unfortunately hard to steal but comes with a big, fat, heterosexual stamp on it. Life sucks that way.

**Full Summary:** Naruto gets severely injured saving Sasuke's life on a mission and even with his healing he's still in the hospital three weeks after the incident. The only way he can be allowed out is if someone's willing to take care of him. Sasuke may just be offering himself up for the task - but what's the catch?

**Pairing List:** Sasuke/Naruto

**Chapters:** 2/8

**Updates:** Each chapter should be posted every four days after the previous one unless outside interference prevents me from reaching the internet/computer to upload it.

**Beta:** "In eighteen years precisely the planets will align ever so nicely…" – "Aye, verse." WAIT, WHAT! I'm sorry; I was distracted, by my beta. But that's okay, since it's her a/n anyway. So let's all celebrate and give thanks to the awesomeness that is Lady Ivvy! She's so fast and so efficient that she's going to have me running out of work to give her soon D: But regardless of that, everyone applaud her and give her awesome shit, yeah? Please and thank you! Lol.

**A/N:** I have a giant tooth-ache induced headache and I can't sleep because of it, so I thought I had might as well post it a few hours early than I planned. I want to thank all the people who reviewed the first chapter. It really is nice to receive acknowledgment that the story is enjoyable :)

* * *

_Chapter 2_

Despite the large list of injuries and even longer list of dangerous missions Naruto had been on throughout his career as a ninja, for the first time in his life, Naruto had spent three weeks in the hospital… and was showing no signs of being allowed home anytime soon.

He'd begged, he'd threatened and he'd even tried bribing the medic-nins and Tsunade herself, but none of them would budge and he was left confined to the same bed he'd woken up in a week ago. So far four of the poisons had been flushed out of his system, but since he still had two more to go no one was willing to allow him to check out yet.

It hadn't been too bad for the first few days as everyone had come to visit him. His friends had seemed to be evenly split down the middle, there were the people who just wanted to make sure he was okay and those who yelled at him for almost dying and scaring the crap out of them. He still wasn't sure which he preferred, but he'd have taken any of them today. No one but nurses he didn't know had come to see him since Sakura was busy in a separate ward and Tsunade was at the Hokage tower. He was _dying_ of boredom.

The only thing he had to look forward to was the fact that, without fail, a few minutes after visiting hours ended, Sasuke would show up and spend almost the whole night by his bedside. At first he'd been surprised and a little suspicious, but Sasuke hadn't 'opened up' anymore after that first night and their usual banter had continued so he just let it slide. He figured Sasuke must have managed to discover a long buried human emotion and was feeling guilty for the damage the sword had done. It worked for him if he got someone to talk to at night instead of killing himself just to end the dullness that was currently his life. He was just not made for long-term inactivity.

"What are you glaring at, idiot?"

Sasuke's voice made him start slightly and he growled under his breath at being caught off guard by the now smirking Uchiha. "Don't sneak up on me, asshole!"

The other's smirk dropped as he looked at Naruto critically. "You're still having trouble surveying a room?"

Naruto blushed lightly in both embarrassment and anger at himself. The total devastation to his system was cutting down a lot of the skills he would have once found simple. While he could walk on his own now for at least a few minutes before needing a rest, he still had trouble when it came to anything to do with his chakra or looking at someone else's.

It was also one of the other main reasons he wanted to get the hell out of the hospital. He hated it when people kept coming in and asking him the same questions about his progress and telling him in sympathetic voices that it would, '_just take time'_. He didn't want his failures continually shoved in his damn face. At least Sasuke just 'hn'd after his answers on the rare times he asked.

Fingers being snapped in his face brought him back to the present. Sasuke was standing over him and glaring slightly. "Pay attention, dumbass."

"Shove it, bastard," Naruto growled while sitting up in the bed. He did his best to ignore the pain twinging through him and the way his chest constricted as he moved his back up against the pillows.

His breathing was a bit laboured by the time he was done, but Sasuke didn't comment on it as he changed the subject while moving to his now regular seat, "When do you get out of here?"

Naruto groaned loudly. "I don't know, damn it! And God, Sasuke, I am so bored I am ready to give up ramen for a year if it gets me out of here!"

His eyebrows rising delicately, Sasuke asked slowly, as if confirming he had heard right, "You would give up ramen?"

"If it gets me out of here," Naruto said determinedly.

This statement was actually his secret weapon, used in the most dire of circumstances as it was only valid once per person because, in all honesty he had kind of… grown out of ramen. He'd eaten it so much as a kid that he just sort of, couldn't get into it anymore.

Iruka had warned him once or twice that it would happen, and really, when was his teacher ever wrong? It had been over the last year or so that he'd noticed his gradual disinterest in the food. He still ate it, just not as frequently or with as much vigour. It was why it was now such a good weapon; it looked like a desperate plea from him, but in actuality it was more like a medium level appeal, and since Iruka was the only one who knew about his new feelings on the food it would - hopefully - be the push needed to get Sasuke on his side and him out of the hospital. He just had to wait for the other's response.

Sasuke was looking pensive as if he was trying to decide if he should say something or not. Naruto was really hoping that whatever it was, he would just tell him. His tolerance for silence was even lower than normal after the week in here, and he was anxious to tempt Sasuke over to his way of thinking and find a way to scheme him back home.

When he noticed Sasuke's face clear, he instantly focused all his attention on the other ninja; convincing Sasuke of anything usually took a lot of effort and a carefully planned trap by using the Uchiha's words against him.

"It might be possible for me to get you out of here," Sasuke spoke quietly, still looking like he was a few steps away from a good brood.

Naruto perked up, a grin worming its way on his face despite the big '_BUT_' he could feel looming ahead. "Yeah? How? What do we have to do?"

For one of the few times in his life, Sasuke actually looked a little awkward. "I was talking to Tsunade about your condition. You're still unable to live on your own, but if you were to live with someone else for a few months while you healed - as long as you maintained checkups as much as she saw fit… Tsunade would be willing to release you."

Naruto felt like bouncing. "That's it? That's all I have to do? Get someone to baby sit me and lend me a couch?"

Eyes narrowing, Sasuke crossed his arms and leant back in the chair. "No, it's _not_ that simple. You would have to stay in someone's spare room as they stayed in the house with you twenty-four hours a day to make sure you didn't relapse. They would also have to have some kind of medical knowledge to keep you alive if anything happened or an antidote had to be administered. They would essentially be your nurse."

Naruto felt his hopes drop throughout the other's reply as the reality of the request slowly sank in. There was no one who could do that for him. The only people who could potentially cover the medical aspect of the requirements were Sakura, Iruka and possibly Kakashi and they were already busy with their own things. They also didn't have enough room in their homes to keep him there.

He groaned and just barely resisted the urge to bury his face in his hands. "Shit. There goes that chance."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Sasuke snapped angrily.

Lifting his head, Naruto frowned at the other's agitation. "Sakura, Kakashi and Iruka would be too busy, and even if they weren't their places are… too… small..."

Naruto trailed off as Sasuke eyes narrowed dangerously, his posture stiffening as he growled out, "And what about _me_?"

"What about-" Naruto cut himself off with wide eyes before he leant forward and asked in a mixture of disbelief and quickly developing hope, "_You_ would be my nurse?"

Sasuke's eye twitched at the word nurse, but he otherwise didn't react but to give a stiff nod. Naruto's grin could have lit up the room as he practically vibrated on the bed. "If I could get out of this bed I would hug the shit out of you right now, Sasuke!"

"Do that and I'll take back my damn offer," Sasuke muttered, his anger seeming to fade as he went back to his usual indifference.

The reply however made Naruto pause, as a small frown formed. He knew this could be a potentially argument fuelling question, but he needed to ask. "Hey Sasuke, not that I'm not really grateful and all, but why are you even offering? You don't even invite me over when I'm well."

Naruto swore he could see the walls rise up around Sasuke as the doors and windows slammed shut. Hell, he was pretty sure he could even see the blinds fly into place.

"Do you want to stay in this bed for the next few weeks?" Sasuke threatened.

Holding up his hands in surrender, Naruto let out a little laugh and gave him a small grin. He was too happy to argue. Sasuke could have called him every name under the sun and told him he'd never make Hokage and he would have let it slip by right now. Why did he care what the reason was? He was getting _out_ and so what if Sasuke was the person behind it? He could allow Sasuke a few hours of being an emotionally-handicapped and weird jerk. "Fine, fine; stay secretive."

Sasuke looked at him suspiciously for a few moments, but realising Naruto wasn't going to pry, he also let it slide. "I'll talk to the Hokage tomorrow."

Naruto grinned brightly at Sasuke and he reached out with the arm that had two IV drips and a few bandages on it - sadly, it was his better arm. He didn't care that he had to stretch more than usual to grasp Sasuke's shoulder.

"Thank you, Sasuke," he said sincerely.

He couldn't be entirely sure, but for just a second, he could swear Sasuke's cheeks looked a little darker than usual. "No problem, Naruto."

Shaking it off, he sat back down on the bed. "So, asshole, what's going on outside these disgustingly bland grey walls?"

Sasuke's lips twitched into a small smirk and Naruto started to relax as they began to converse. In the back of his mind though, he couldn't get the thought out of his head. _No more hospital, yes!_

**-break-**

It had taken two more days confined to the bed as Tsunade and Sakura fussed over him before they deemed him ready to be allowed under Sasuke's care. He'd been poked, prodded and all around experimented on while they each made lists and gave lectures to both of them on all the ways to keep him alive and well. By the time it was over not only was Sasuke glaring at everything but Naruto was managing to match the look almost perfectly too.

Finally though, after what felt like forever, Naruto was sitting on the hospital bed, dressed in one of his black shirts and a pair of grey sweatpants. Sasuke had brought them over from the guest room he'd prepared by filling it with Naruto's things.

Naruto was just waiting for Sasuke to show up and then he could be teleported to Sasuke's house. Tsunade had wanted to put him on a stretcher and carry him through town, but he'd adamantly refused, especially since the gleam in her eye had told him there was probably not much of a medical reason behind the suggestion.

Sasuke was the one to eventually get her to let the idea go as he focused his glare on her and hinted that he'd tell Shizune where her secret bottle of sake was. Suffice to say the conversation had been dropped. Naruto didn't doubt Sasuke would pay for it later, but the Uchiha had seemed unconcerned and had merely left, promising to return in the morning to take him to his house.

And that was what brought Naruto back to where he was.

Pouting slightly, Naruto turned his head to look at Sakura as she sat at the end of his bed, scribbling something in a notebook. The years had really matured her in both body and mind. She no longer gushed over Sasuke or ignored Naruto. She had found a middle ground and had turned her attention away from boys to focus on her medical training under Tsunade.

She now treated Sasuke and Naruto like the brothers she never had, and Naruto felt much the same, long having grown out of his crush on her. He did still play it up for fun, but Naruto was well aware that Sakura knew his affections were now platonic.

"Sakuuuura," he began to whine, "I'm bored!"

"What am I supposed to do about it?" She questioned, not stopping her movements or looking at him.

Naruto grinned, not willing to miss the opportunity. "Kiss me to make it better?"

She rolled her eyes, but he could see the grin twitching at her lips. "Not if you were the last guy left in the world."

"Oh come on," Naruto tried, "are you really willing to condemn the entire human race to death just because you're still in denial about my good looks?"

She turned away from her page to give him an amused look. Her voice however was dry when she spoke, "Any denials about you I may have aside, I hardly doubt we could repopulate the whole world."

Naruto grinned. "But does that mean you'd be willing to _try_?"

Sakura laughed lightly. "Okay, Naruto, if we were the _last_ two humans left and the two of us being together would somehow bring the population back, then sure, I'd try."

"I'm finally getting somewhere!" Naruto cheered, making his friend giggle again, "Now I just need to get you to agree in a few more - plausible - circumstances."

Rolling her eyes, she replied, "Don't bet on it." Turning back to her notepad, she started writing again, even while calling out, "And Sasuke, come inside from that windowsill, I'm sure Naruto is more than ready to leave."

Naruto turned his head as fast as he could without hurting it to find that Sasuke was indeed sitting on the sill of the open window for the room. Naruto scowled lightly. "I hate not being able to notice anything anymore."

He felt Sakura reach out and pat his shoulder consolingly, "At least you got rid of the last two toxins yesterday. Once your body works out the lingering effects you should heal at your normal pace again. Your senses and chakra should also start to come back."

"I want to kill the person who made that sword," Naruto snapped out, not feeling comforted in the slightest.

He felt someone stop in front of him and he looked up at Sasuke, his eyes met the others and his eyebrows rose a little at seeing the unspoken reply in their angry depths. _So do I_.

Sasuke was the first to look away. "Ready to go, idiot?"

Shaking his head to clear the lingering thoughts, Naruto let himself grin. "Hell yeah, Sasuke-bastard."

Standing up on somewhat shaky legs, he turned to look at Sakura who was watching them closely. "I'll see you during my check-up in a few days?"

She nodded and stood up with them. "I'll be there." Sakura turned to look at Sasuke. "Look after him."

Sasuke gave a small grunt of acknowledgement and Naruto made sure they could both see him roll his eyes. Sakura tried to hide a smile while Sasuke sent him a light glare before reaching out to put a hand on his shoulder. "Have you got everything?"

"Well since I _came_ with nothing, I suppose I do."

Sakura gave a short laugh before quickly covering her hand with her mouth to stifle it. Naruto sent her a curious look, and she slowly lowered it to reply with heavy sarcasm and amusement, "Oh yeah, I can see you two living together without causing bloodshed."

Glancing at Sasuke, Naruto scrutinised him for a second, before he just grinned and put his arm around the other's shoulders. His body protested loudly but he ignored it so he could get his point across to both of his friends. "We're best friends, we'll be fine."

He was staring at Sakura as he spoke, but he was still keeping a sharp eye on Sasuke so when the other scowled and lightly ducked his head, Naruto caught it. He felt confused for what must have been the millionth time in the last week. _What the hell is with Sasuke?_

"We'll see," Sakura said, snapping him from his thoughts. She had a knowing look in her eyes as she looked between them before turning away.

Naruto frowned but just as he was turning back to look at Sasuke and question him, he saw leaves from the corner of his eye and felt the light dance of Sasuke's chakra ghost over him as Sasuke teleported them out of the hospital.

His breath seemed to catch in his throat when they arrived, his whole body tensing as his vision swam. _Oh shit_, he thought as he felt his legs give way and his mind black out, _this isn't a good thing_.

After that, everything went dark.

* * *

**A/N:** I know some of you might be screwing your face up at the fact I haven't made Sakura horrible, but in my opinion if she's done right, she's not that bad. Some of my stories will have this philosophy, others will work on the basis that she's the annoying twit of the series. It depends on the plot premises and where I'm coming from at the time. Nonetheless, she doesn't appear often.

Anyway, tell me what you think? Reviews and constructive criticism are the smiles of my day, you know.


	3. Chapter 3

**Disclaimer:** The list of things I own are regrettably slim and nowhere on that piece of paper is there anything to do with the possession of the Naruto characters. They belong on a much bigger list that is not only unfortunately hard to steal but comes with a big, fat, heterosexual stamp on it. Life sucks that way.

**Full Summary:** Naruto gets severely injured saving Sasuke's life on a mission and even with his healing he's still in the hospital two weeks after the incident. The only way he can be allowed out is if someone's willing to take care of him. Sasuke may just be offering himself up for the task - but what's the catch?

**Pairing List:** Sasuke/Naruto

**Chapters:** 3/8

**Updates:** Each chapter should be posted every four days after the previous one unless outside interference prevents me from reaching the internet/computer to upload it.

**Beta:** This chapter actually had the efforts to two betas. The lovely and sweet FlyingTackle and the amazing and awesome Lady Ivvy so let's give it up for both these fantastic ladies! *hugs them both*

**A/N:** Alright, first off I want to thank everyone who reviews and puts this on their alert list, it always makes me happy to see this story is like. But my gratitude aside, I just want to mention that this is a short chapter, but there is a reason for it and the next chapter will be up to my usual length. So don't fret, they won't be staying this small.

And since that's all the notes I have for you at the moment, I hope you enjoy this :)

* * *

_Chapter 3_

Naruto woke up with a groan and a pounding headache.

"Fuck." He brought a hand up to his head, only then realising he was lying in a bed - one that was much more comfortable than both his own and the hospital's, he noted. "What happened?"

"You fainted," Sasuke stated from somewhere to his right.

Opening his eyes - and internally cheering when nothing spun or was hard to focus on - he turned his head slightly to look at Sasuke. "No shit, asshole. I want to know _why_ I fainted."

"Be more specific, then, idiot." Naruto let out a slight growl at the response. Sasuke just rolled his eyes before continuing impassively, "Your body wasn't prepared for the sudden shift in location or for the strong amount of chakra to your system, so you collapsed."

Naruto frowned. "But Tsunade and Sakura have used their chakra on me, right? Why didn't theirs have a bad effect too?"

Sasuke's look was one of slight irritation as he responded, "Medical ninjas have a much higher level of chakra control; they would have been using less invasive ones so you wouldn't react negatively. Medical jutsu and teleportation jutsu are in entirely different categories." He paused and gave Naruto a condescending look. "Don't you pay attention to anything?"

Turning away from Sasuke and sitting himself up, he used his examination of the room as an excuse to not continue the conversation.

The walls were a dark blue, and the furnishings were bland and uninteresting: a wooden desk, cupboards and a built in wardrobe. There was also the blue upon blue upon _blue_ linen that covered the double bed he was in. He noticed a door to the bathroom behind Sasuke and Naruto was sure it would be just as boring and _blue_ as his new bedroom.

"Is this where I'll be staying?" He asked while scanning the room again, cataloguing all the places he could add things to give the room some damn colour and _life_.

"Yes, this is one of the guest rooms. It's two doors down from the room I'll be occupying."

His response made Naruto turn to the other with his nose scrunched up. "_Occupying_? Can't you speak like a normal person and just say it's your bedroom?"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "My _bedroom_ is on the second floor. It will be easier for you to be on the first floor, and since I need to be close to you in case something happens, I moved myself to one of the other spare rooms."

It was just for a second, but Naruto felt the overwhelming urge to apologise and then maybe hug Sasuke tightly in gratitude for all he was doing. Naruto knew that Sasuke was an extremely private person, and that he hated accommodating others. He did things his own way. Yet for some reason that Naruto still wasn't sure of, he was doing all this for him.

Naruto knew he'd probably end up paying for the gesture later, but for the time being, he could at least pretend Sasuke was doing it from the goodness of his heart. So, plastering on a teasing smile, he said, "Damn, Sasuke. How many rooms does this place have?"

Crossing his arms, Sasuke just let out a 'hn' in response, making Naruto roll his eyes before glancing around the room again. "So bastard, where's my stuff?"

"Your clothes are in the cupboards and in the wardrobe," he paused for a moment, and Naruto turned to look at him curiously. Sasuke looked decidedly uncomfortable. "That hat thing of yours is under the pillow."

Naruto brightened and turned, burying his hand under it to pull out his old, childhood sleeping cap. It was a little frayed here and there and had been stitched up a few times, but he still wore it to bed every night he was in the village.

Placing it beside him on the mattress, he flashed Sasuke a smile. "Did you bring anything else of mine?"

Sasuke shook his head. "No. You shouldn't need anything else for the first few days you're here. If you require something more, it won't be hard for me to retrieve it."

"Alright then," Naruto agreed amiably, but even as he said it, he was already planning on getting Sakura to grab him a few things so he could… decorate his room when Sasuke was otherwise occupied. "So what are we going to do?"

Sasuke looked at him blankly. "What?"

"I'm _bored_, asshole. You're here to look after me, so entertain me."

"Fat chance," Sasuke stated.

Naruto fixed a pout on him. "Come _on_, Sasuke. This is our first night together, you've got to show me a good time!"

If Naruto didn't know better, he would swear Sasuke was blushing, and maybe even a little flustered. His voice, however, was the same emotionless tone, so Naruto figured he was probably just imagining things. "No."

"Why not? It's not that hard. Hell, I'll settle for a TV**[1]** and some movies."

Sasuke crossed his arms. "The only TV in the house is in my room."

"Well, plug it in here!" Naruto said happily.

Once again, Sasuke looked uncomfortable, and it took him a few moments under Naruto's expectant stare before he admitted stiffly, "I don't watch much TV."

Naruto blinked. "What does that have to-" he cut himself off before grinning gleefully. "You don't know how to set it up, do you?"

Sasuke glared. "I was never one to sit down and spend hours wasting away in front of an idiot box."

Rolling his eyes, Naruto ignored the thinly veiled insult towards his intelligence. "Whatever. Just get it in here and I'll show you." Naruto was almost vibrating with enthusiasm by the time he finished, "Then you can get some movies from my place and we'll have a marathon with dinner."

Sasuke still didn't look particularly pleased with the idea, but he stood up nonetheless. "I'm picking the movies."

"Well duh," Naruto replied, "you're the one going to my apartment."

"Dumbass," Sasuke muttered, and on instinct Naruto threw back his customary 'bastard' as Sasuke made his way out of the room.

When Sasuke was out of sight, Naruto leant back against the pillows with a smile. What was Sakura worried about? Living with Sasuke was going to be a piece of cake.

**-break-**

"For fuck's sake, Sasuke, I said the _yellow_ hole, not the _blue_ one! I know you're partial to the damn colour, but an electrical shock is really not worth fulfilling this obsession!"

Spinning around to snarl at Naruto, Sasuke held up the wire in his hand while growling out, "You never said this plug went in the yellow one! You said it was in the one next to the red hole. How the hell am I supposed to know which one you mean when your instructions suck?"

Naruto glared. "My instructions are fine! If you could actually see and _distinguish_ one colour from another, we wouldn't be having this problem!"

"I'm praised for my eyesight, dumbass," Sasuke snapped, "You're the one with the half-assed directions who's known for his idiocy."

Frustrated, Naruto picked up the remote and hurled it at Sasuke, only getting angrier at his muscles' inadequacy as it landed on the floor somewhere between them.

Sasuke raised an eyebrow and smirked scornfully. Naruto crossed his arms and turned away from the Uchiha slightly. "If I'm so useless at helping you, then why don't you just use your Sharingan to memorise the manual, huh?"

"I don't have a manual," Sasuke's voice sounded strained, like he was trying to keep a grip on his anger and not come over and throttle Naruto.

Naruto let out a large huff of air before turning back to face Sasuke. He was still standing in front of the TV, but now he was glaring at it while he absently twirled the cord between his fingers.

"Okay," Naruto said, summoning up whatever vestige of calm still remained inside him, "let's try this again." Sasuke looked at him with slightly raised eyebrows, but Naruto ignored his disbelief. "If we put the yellow plug in the wrong hole, we just have to find the right one."

The smallest scowl began to form on Sasuke's face, and Naruto almost groaned. He was just waiting for the rebuttal saying that _he_ got it wrong, not Sasuke, or even how it was _obvious_ that's what they had to do. The superiority complex that was Sasuke just _had_ to correct him.

"Fine."

Naruto straightened in his seat, blinking at Sasuke's back in incredulity as he started fiddling behind the TV once again. "Wait, wait," Naruto said, making Sasuke look behind his shoulder at him, "you're just going to _agree_?"

"Contrary to popular belief, Naruto," Sasuke answered, "I don't enjoy fighting with you every five seconds over pointless things. If you're actually going to use some of the small amount of intelligence and restraint that you possess, then I'm not going to challenge it."

Naruto was silent for a few moments. "I'm not sure whether that was an insult or a compliment."

Sasuke groaned, his shoulders slumping over the TV slightly. "I take it back; you're still a complete idiot."

"Hey!" Naruto protested, "I'm not the one who doesn't know how to install a TV!"

"Whatever." Sasuke muttered, "We're almost done anyway."

Frowning slightly, Naruto had to silently concede the point when the TV suddenly came to life, and a news program began airing. Moving away, Sasuke picked up the remote from the floor and causally tossed it to land beside Naruto.

Shoving his left hand in his pocket, Sasuke headed for the door. "You hungry?"

Naruto's stomach rumbled loudly at the question, and Naruto gave Sasuke a slightly sheepish smile. "Yeah, how about you get some food and pick up the movies from my place, and then we'll eat up here?"

Sasuke paused before his eyes flicked to the bed and the TV before landing on Naruto. There was something on his face that just… it had Naruto's stomach knotting nervously, and he didn't know why. When Sasuke turned around and away from him, Naruto almost wanted to call him back so he could try and distinguish whatever that look had meant.

He didn't, though, and Sasuke just continued out the door, throwing his agreement over his shoulder. "Whatever."

Naruto frowned a little once the other disappeared. What the hell was up with Sasuke lately? He'd been weird ever since Naruto had woken up. It was starting to annoy him, especially when he had no damn clue what was causing it. He was going to go insane if he spent a month with a confusing Sasuke on top of a bastard Sasuke without knowing why the first one was anywhere near the second.

_Wait._ Naruto paused as he re-thought his previous sentence and blushed lightly. _Two Sasukes on top of each other?_ Oh great, now Sasuke's weirdness was starting to rub off on _him_.

"Damn it," he muttered, pressing his right hand to his forehead as another innuendo passed through his mind. He blamed Jiraiya for the corruption of his once innocent thoughts; he was normal before he started training with that pervert.

But no, all of that aside - _definitely_ forcing all of that aside - it didn't change the fact that Sasuke was still acting strangely.

Determination started to surge through and practically radiate off Naruto as he sat up straighter and declared, "If I'm going to be stuck with that bastard, I'm going to find out what's wrong with him and figure out a way to fix it!" He paused, an amused smile starting to form as he added his childhood catchphrase for the first time in years, "Believe it!"

* * *

**A/N: **Yes, yes. So you've figured it out. This story is mostly just stupidly cliché and cute. Does anyone have a problem with that? No? I didn't think so. *smirk*

**Number Notes:**

**[1]** - Now, I personally hate "modern inserts" and whatnot and it's something that will easily make me click out of a story, but when I asked around and did some research it was proven that Sasuke has a TV in the manga. [My link was from Onemanga, but since they shut down, I have no proof. *SHAKESFIST* Sorry.] So, I figure that since it's official, I could use a TV in my stories :)


	4. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer:** The list of things I own are regrettably slim and nowhere on that piece of paper is there anything to do with the possession of the Naruto characters. They belong on a much bigger list that is not only unfortunately hard to steal but comes with a big, fat, heterosexual stamp on it. Life sucks that way.

**Full Summary:** Naruto gets severely injured saving Sasuke's life on a mission and even with his healing he's still in the hospital two weeks after the incident. The only way he can be allowed out is if someone's willing to take care of him. Sasuke may just be offering himself up for the task - but what's the catch?

**Pairing List:** Sasuke/Naruto

**Chapters:** 4/8

**Updates:** Each chapter should be posted every four days after the previous one unless outside interference prevents me from reaching the internet/computer to upload it.

**Beta:** This chapter actually had the efforts to two betas. The lovely and sweet FlyingTackle and the amazing and awesome Lady Ivvy so let's give it up for both these fantastic ladies! *hugs them both*

**A/N:** Wow, there is nothing to say here, haha. So I guess, enjoy - heh.

* * *

_Chapter 4_

During Sasuke's absence from the room, Naruto had spent the first five minutes taking a more detailed look around his new bedroom. He didn't come up with many new discoveries other than the fact that the ceiling was as blue and as clean as the rest of the room. Naruto figured he'd have to wait until he was a bit stronger to do some proper examining.

He'd turned to the TV at that point, flicking through the few channels Sasuke had in the hopes of finding something interesting to watch. Naruto hadn't been sure whether to laugh at the predictability of it, or cry at the unfairness that Sasuke only seemed to have educational, weather and news stations. There wasn't a single thing he could watch without falling asleep. In the end, he just turned off the TV, and after glancing at the clock - only ten minutes wasted so far - he started shuffling towards the edge of the bed.

Since he had nothing to do and couldn't very well formulate a plan to figure Sasuke out without more conclusive evidence, he decided, weak muscles or not, that he was going to explore this room. Reaching the edge, he sat up before pushing the covers off him - wondering briefly just why Sasuke had decided to put him _in_ the bed; he'd only fainted, for God's sake!

Turning so he could place his feet on the floor, he shivered slightly at the cold temperature. His apartment floor was never this chilly during this time of the year. Did Sasuke's house _absorb_ his personality?

Dismissing the thought for the moment, Naruto focused his attention on reaching out and placing his palm on the bedside table, using it to lever himself carefully into a standing position. When his head didn't spin, he grinned before slowly starting to head towards the first set of drawers.

He didn't want to overexert himself - which, okay, he might have done that already, if passing out was any indication - but he was _bored_. Just because he'd fainted once didn't mean he'd do it again - after all, that was from a jutsu's interference in the first place. A short walk shouldn't pose too much of a problem.

Continuing his mental encouragement, it wasn't until he reached the dresser that he let himself beam, his breathing a bit laboured despite only having walked a few metres.

"See," he said lightly, "I'm getting better everyday."

"You're becoming more stupid everyday," Sasuke hissed, and Naruto winced slightly at the poison dripping from his words.

Turning around cautiously, Naruto kept one hand on the dresser as he asked with a disarming smile, "Hey, Sasuke. Back so soon?"

When he met the other's gaze, Naruto's smile dropped slightly. Sasuke looked less than pleased by his little exploration. The hand that was holding the bags of take-out dinner and videos was clenched so tightly that Naruto was surprised he wasn't ripping the material.

"Why are you out of bed?" Sasuke demanded, each word coming out sharp and clear.

Naruto's smile turned a little sheepish and the hand not holding the dresser came to scratch behind his head. "Uh… I was bored?"

"You had the TV."

"There's nothing on?" Naruto tried, watching as Sasuke twitched from clenching his jaw so tightly. Naruto tried to implement damage control. "At least I didn't faint!"

Walking forward, Sasuke put the food and videos beside the bed, continuing without pause until he was right in front of Naruto. "And what if you had? Do you not understand how fragile your body still is?"

Naruto let out an agitated huff of air. "I'm a ninja and the vessel to the Kyuubi. I think my body's got a damn good leap in front of everyone when it comes to a bill of health."

"Not right now it doesn't," Sasuke growled before reaching out and prying Naruto's hand from the dresser and bringing the other arm around his shoulders. "We're putting you back in that bed. I do not plan on cleaning up the mess if you fall over and kill yourself in my house."

Naruto rolled his eyes but allowed Sasuke to lead him back. "You're such a fucking mother hen, Sasuke."

The only reply Sasuke gave was a non-committal grunt that made Naruto want to hit the Uchiha over the back of the head. He managed to restrain himself though; he knew better than to hit the person who was helping him walk. When they reached the bed, Sasuke set him down before returning to the bags he'd abandoned.

Shifting into a more comfortable sitting position, Naruto asked, "What did you bring, bastard?"

Sasuke shot him a glare, but Naruto ignored the look, his stomach already rumbling as Sasuke pulled out their dinner. It looked like chicken on rice with some kind of sauce and a mixture of vegetables. Naruto's mouth was already starting to salivate and he held out his hands with a grin.

Handing over the food, Sasuke also gave him a tea towel with a pointed look, and not wanting to start an argument, Naruto placed it over his lap. Pulling apart his chopsticks, Naruto opened the container's lid and dug in.

His eyes closed briefly at the taste; it was _so good_. He wasn't sure if it was the weeks of hospital food talking or just an amazing chef, but he didn't think he'd ever had anything so delicious in his life.

Moving to take another bite, he had just popped it in his mouth when his attention shifted to the TV that had been turned on and a movie put in. Turning to Sasuke, he was about to ask what movie it was when he noticed something that made him frown and hurriedly swallow his food.

"Hey bastard; what the hell are you doing on that chair?"

Sasuke turned to him with a raised eyebrow, the rest of his face blank as he held his chopsticks in one hand as the other rested over the container of his unopened dinner. "You eat so fast that I might as well just wait in the room until you finish your meal. I can take the trash out all at once that way."

"Huh?" Naruto blinked. "No, you idiot; why are you not on the _bed_?"

Sasuke's other eyebrow shot up to meet the first one, but Naruto wasn't wasting any more time as he put the lid back on his food before setting it beside him. He than leant over the bed so he could grab the sleeve of Sasuke's shirt and pull him forward.

He figured he must have really surprised Sasuke, because that was the only reason he could imagine for Sasuke to _let_ Naruto yank him into an ungraceful heap on the bed beside the blond - especially with Naruto so weakened in the first place.

When Sasuke didn't complain and just righted himself with a small frown, Naruto took back his food and pressed play on the remote, starting the movie - which was actually one of his favourites.

Glancing briefly at Sasuke, he used the clean end of his chopsticks to poke Sasuke's shoulder. "Get the lights. You can't enjoy a good movie without darkness."

"What is this; Naruto's movie etiquette 101?" Despite the complaint, he still got up and made his way over to the light switch.

Instead of answering, Naruto just pulled the lid off Sasuke's dinner and stole a piece of chicken in retribution. It wasn't as good as his, but Naruto still planned to steal a few more bites before the night was out.

Feeling the bed dip and Sasuke sit beside him, Naruto couldn't help but grin as he stole another piece. Sasuke's shot him a disapproving look but Naruto just winked at him, mischief swimming in his eyes.

The movie started moments later, and even when Naruto focused his attention on it, he still saw Sasuke steal some of his own dinner in return. Naruto knew Sasuke could have done it without him noticing, but that wasn't what this was about.

Granted, Naruto didn't know _what_ it was about, but he did know this wasn't their usual rivalry or even their usual bickering… if anything, this was their friendship.

The thought made Naruto smile, and from the corner of his eye, Naruto could swear he saw Sasuke smiling too.

**-break-**

It only took them an hour before they had finished eating - and stealing each other's food. When they were done, Naruto paused the movie and grinned at Sasuke. "Any chance you got us some dessert?"

"I don't like sweet things," Sasuke replied, but before Naruto could complain, Sasuke pulled out a small container Naruto hadn't noticed earlier and handed it to the blond.

Opening it curiously, Naruto let out a small, excited sound and took the spoon Sasuke was still holding so he could eat the green tea ice cream Sasuke had bought him.

He let out a small appreciative moan when he tried some. "That is _so goood_."

He knew this wasn't the hospital talking. This simply was the _best_ green tea ice cream he had ever had. Licking the spoon to get off every drop, he turned to Sasuke. "Where did you get-" he cut himself off, frowning at Sasuke when he wouldn't look at the blond's face and once again seemed uncomfortable. "You okay, asshole?"

Sasuke gave a small grunt of acknowledgement and started to climb off the bed. Reaching out instantly, Naruto managed to snag Sasuke shirt for the second time that night. "Hey, wait. Sasuke, what's wrong?"

"Nothing," Sasuke answered neutrally, "I'm going to go to my room so you can finish your movie. I'll get the rest of your rubbish later."

He started to pull away, but Naruto only held on tighter - not that he thought it would do much good anyway. "What are you talking about? Don't you like the movie? You _picked_ it, you know."

Sasuke finally turned his head to face him; he looked somewhat confused, although his voice was still a monotone when he replied. "We don't do well in each other's company. If we want to survive this then I suggest we keep our interaction on a strictly necessary basis."

_What. The. Hell._

Naruto stared at Sasuke for a long moment as his mind went a couple hundred miles an hour. What was Sasuke _talking_ about? It sounded like he didn't want to spend time with him. But how could that be right? Hadn't they been having fun just then? Hell, Sasuke had offered his home and spent almost every night at the hospital with him… Did Sasuke think _Naruto_ didn't want to spend time with _him_? Well, Naruto would have to put a stop to that stupid idea.

"I _asked_ you to sit up here and watch a movie with me. That tends to mean I want your company. So why are you bailing? And why did you _offer_ your house if you didn't want to spend time with me, too?"

There came that strange look again, and for a moment, Naruto panicked that he'd interpreted Sasuke's response wrong - or that he was about to learn about his stay had the biggest catch in the world attached to it. Sasuke's next words halted his worrying though, even if it did bring back that almost ever-present confusion. "You… want me to stay here?"

Shoving away that extra amount of confusion Sasuke's response brought - for now - he answered with some small amount of annoyance; and really, why did Sasuke always have to overcomplicate the simplest things? "Yes, you idiot; so sit down, stop being a jerk and maybe then I won't hit you for making me let my ice cream melt."

"Dumbass," Sasuke quietly said, but he still looked slightly puzzled - and hey, Naruto could relate.

Glancing at him from the corner of his eye, Naruto took another spoonful of ice cream, pondering the slight softness he had heard in Sasuke's tone.

All of a sudden, it hit him and he almost dropped his spoon. He couldn't believe he'd missed it when the same thing could be said about him. _Sasuke's lonely._

He wanted someone in the house to talk to and spend time with. He probably didn't want to admit it, emotionally stunted prick that he was, so he used Naruto's injury as a way to go about getting company. Naruto didn't doubt he was also getting off on being able to boss Naruto around, but it was mostly about interaction. This mansion seemed suffocating in its silence.

Looking Sasuke up and down, he nodded, pleased with his analysis. Lightly nudging Sasuke's shoulder, he grinned at him. "You should invite me over here more when I get better."

Sasuke gave him a sceptical look. "Say that again once a week's passed."

"I will!" Naruto told him firmly.

Sasuke just shook his head lightly. "Just put the movie back on."

"Can't," Naruto replied absently, starting to feel his bladder complain.

Scooping up the last of his ice-cream and letting out another, longer moan as he swallowed it, he opened his eyes only to feel his good mood shift as he frowned. Sasuke had that… that _look_ about him again. What the hell had he done to receive it? Maybe having company around was only a small part of Sasuke's problem? It seemed that there was a lot more inspiring his strangeness than just loneliness. It was such bad timing too; he couldn't sit here and try to figure it out when he really, really had to go to the bathroom.

He'd just have to ask Sasuke for his help and hope for the best. Maybe he could figure it out as they walked across the room and he pried him for information? In a subtle way, of course.

"Sasuke?" He waited until he received a grunt of acknowledgement, because Sasuke _wasn't looking at him anymore._ It was all beginning to piss him off, and he ended up snapping his request. "Help me get off here and take me into the bathroom." **[1]**

He felt some confusion override his anger when Sasuke whipped his head up to look at him with that guarded face again, although there was visible surprise in it this time. Naruto once again wasn't sure what he'd done to accomplish more of this _weirdness_ - and was that _another_ blush too? - but he made a mental note to ask Tsunade to examine Sasuke's head after she checked him out, just in case.

Standing up, Sasuke moved around to the right side of the bed and pulled Naruto's arm around his shoulders. Pushing himself out of the bed, Naruto helped Sasuke as much as he could as they made their way through the darkened room. Naruto absently wondered if Sasuke was using his Sharingan to direct them, but dismissed the thought to focus more on Sasuke's behaviour.

With their backs to the TV it was too dark for Naruto to read Sasuke's face, and he internally frowned in annoyance. Without a visual reaction to go by, any questions he did ask would be useless. He'd have to postpone the investigation until they were back on the bed.

"I can leave you in the bathroom without you cracking your skull open?" Sasuke questioned.

Naruto almost rolled his eyes as Sasuke opened the door. "Yeah, yeah. I'll call you when I need your help again."

Sasuke gave a grunt in reply before switching on the light. Naruto blinked for a moment to let his eyes adjust. Once they had and he could see the room, he _did_ let them roll this time. "What do you know," he said sarcastically, "more blue."

"Just hurry up," Sasuke snapped in response, moving him over to the basin and walking away when Naruto had a firm grip on it. "I'll be throwing out the garbage."

Naruto waved him off as he glanced around the bathroom. There was a porcelain toilet, not far from the vanity basin he was in front of, which had built in cupboards that opened up underneath it, and while the basin was both white and porcelain like the toilet, the vanity itself seemed to be made of something like marble. A mirror spanned the area of the wall above it.

A large shower with a white curtain was on the opposite side of the room, and a rack for towels was to the right of the door. The floor was also tiled with the occasional blue flower pattern disrupting their polished and white colour. Naruto also didn't miss the Uchiha fan that was present on the tiles that contained flowers.

"Wow," Naruto muttered once the door had closed, "what an overdone and boring bathroom."

Making his way over to the toilet, he made sure to add this room to his, 'things to fix' list.

**-break-**

Sasuke ended up being gone for almost ten minutes, and during that time, Naruto took the opportunity to explore as best he could. He got tired easily from too much moving around, so he settled on pulling out bathroom supplies from inside the cupboard under the sink. They were all new and the same brands that he used – Sasuke must have looked through his apartment too - and he couldn't quite stop himself from snorting at the orange toothbrush Sasuke had supplied for him.

He had just managed to finish brushing his teeth and was wiping his hands on the hand towel - everything now stowed back inside - when he heard a knock on the door. Turning to it, he called out, "Come in."

There was a pause before the door opened and Sasuke entered. His face was back to its usual blank mask as he walked over to Naruto, scanning the room as he did. Naruto couldn't help wondering if Sasuke had used his Sharingan to memorise his house, just so he could know what Naruto had touched.

_He probably would have if he wasn't so pedantic about chakra wastage, _Naruto thought absently.

"Ready?" Sasuke asked, breaking Naruto from his thoughts.

Naruto almost rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah."

Wrapping his arm around Sasuke's shoulders, he let himself be led out of the bathroom. He would never have admitted it out loud, but his legs were killing him; it took all he had to stop them from wobbling. He was _really_ looking forward to that bed.

Sasuke turned off the light, kicking the bathroom door shut behind them, and Naruto had to blink slightly to refocus; the only light in the room now coming from the TV. Despite his inability to see very well, they managed to make it to the bed without any stumbles or collisions, and Naruto happily climbed under the covers.

Reaching out for the remote, he had to pat the bed a few times before he could find it, but once he'd grasped it, he turned to Sasuke. He was still standing beside the bed, but in a place that conveniently hid his face in the shadows. _Bastard._

"Come on, asshole. Get your butt in here."

It may have been dark, but Naruto could still visualise the look on Sasuke's face at his comment. One eyebrow raised and the faintest flecks of disbelief in his eyes.

_Then again_, his mind whispered traitorously, _you could be wrong. You hardly know how he'll react to what you say or do anymore._

And Naruto was just going to ignore _that_ for now. Sasuke at least made it slightly easier by replying to him.

"What?" He sounded faintly incredulous as he stayed rooted to the spot.

Grabbing the covers, he lifted them slightly in invitation as he explained, "You're always the first one to freeze on missions - which I always find hilarious since you're such an ice prince - but it also means that you bitch at me for laughing or never getting affected by the cold. So I'm going to save myself a lot of grief by making sure you stay warm." Shaking the covers slightly, Naruto added, "Now get in. I want to finish watching the movie."

Sasuke stayed stubbornly where he was. "I'm not going to-"

"I'll tell everyone you're a shit caretaker." Naruto could practically feel Sasuke's eyes narrow, but he still didn't move. "I'll tell everyone your room is pink." When he once again didn't react, Naruto pulled out the big guns, "I'll tell your fangirls where your room is and how to-"

He cut himself off as Sasuke shoved his hand out of the way and got inside, glaring the whole time. "I fucking hate you."

Naruto just grinned cheerfully while turning back to the TV, not even bothering to reply as he pressed play. He faltered slightly when the next scene began. This was always his least favourite scene; it was mostly dialogue between the hero and heroine as they so obviously danced around their feelings. It was so fucking stupid.

Wanting to express some of his agitation, he glanced at Sasuke. He was watching the movie with interest, and since Naruto couldn't tell if it was feigned or not, he leaned close to Sasuke to whisper his words into the other's ear. "You'd think people would get a clue and admit their damn feelings, you know?"

He felt Sasuke go rigid beside him and Naruto could swear the other stopped breathing. His words were strained when he spoke. "_What?_"

"In the movie," he said slowly, slightly concerned for Sasuke's mental health, "they take forever to say how they feel."

Naruto was watching Sasuke carefully, so when the tension in Sasuke's muscles started to release, he was able to tell that Sasuke was deliberately doing it slowly, as if he didn't want Naruto to notice.

"It's to build suspense, surely even you can understand that," Sasuke replied, his voice a monotone, and Naruto was pretty sure he was trying to deflect attention from his _real_ reaction by egging Naruto into an argument.

Naruto let out a disbelieving huff that had nothing to do with Sasuke's theory on the movie's plot line. Naruto was about to try prying the reason behind Sasuke's tension out of him when the raven let out a sudden shiver. Naruto was once again thrown through a loop.

There was no way Sasuke was cold. Naruto knew this for a fact, because even when Sasuke was covered in icicles he barely shivered; his pride stopped him. So what had made him shiver? Had Naruto's breath tickled him? Or was this one more part of that _strangeness_ Sasuke continued to exude?

Maybe he was so rigid because Naruto was close to him? Naruto already knew Sasuke had some personal space issues, so was this another part of it? Maybe being lonely for so long had made him averse to touch when it wasn't in a fighting scenario? Maybe he was even trying to break that by inviting Naruto to stay here? It kind of made sense in the: I'll-never-tell-you-the-true-reason-I-do-things way of Sasuke's.

Well, if it was the truth, Naruto had no problem assisting him with that! He was always happy to help out, especially when Sasuke was already doing so much for him - even if there was a selfish motive behind it. He'd just have to take it slow, not only to keep Sasuke from realising he'd figured it out, but because Naruto had a feeling if he pushed too hard Sasuke would run even further from healthy human relationships.

Grinning internally, Naruto let out a yawn that started out fake but soon became real - damn, he was kind of tired - as he leant his head against Sasuke's shoulder. He felt Sasuke tense again.

"What are you doing?" He growled out, but since he didn't shove Naruto off, the blond was encouraged.

"I'm tired."

"Then lie on a pillow," Sasuke snapped.

Naruto couldn't help grinning a little at that. "Nah. It's easier to talk this way." His smile turned a little devious since he knew it was hidden from Sasuke's view. "Besides, you shivered a few seconds ago, right? This way I'll keep you warm."

There was a long silence and Naruto could practically hear Sasuke cursing in his head and trying to find a way out of it. He even started to shift away, and for a moment Naruto hesitated, but than he forcibly shoved the deliberation aside. He was going to _help_ Sasuke, and like usual, that meant beating him around the head and shoulders until he gave in.

Reaching out with his left arm, he lightly gripped the edge of Sasuke's shirt. "We've shared a bed before, asshole."

"We were on a mission," Sasuke answered, but Naruto could already feel him wavering, and he was thankful for it, because he was suddenly getting really tired. His body seemed to be realising how worn out it was now that he was relaxing. It also helped that Sasuke was surprisingly comfortable. He smelled nice too.

"Well, consider this a mission." Naruto mumbled, his eyes drifting shut. "You are looking after me and all." He yawned again, his voice fading fast. "Tsunade's orders, right?"

He heard Sasuke sigh slightly as he began to drift off, Sasuke's arm moving to wrap around and support his lower back. It was just as he fell asleep moments later that the Uchiha softly whispered his response. "I offered."

* * *

**A/N:** Well, there you go. What do you think? Cute? Cliché? Boring? Let me know! Just review away, I guarantee you'll get a reply from me :)

**Number Notes:**

**[1]** - The reason this response makes Sasuke act all flustered is because he's already uncomfortable at the sounds and looks Naruto's been making from the ice-cream as well as being in such close proximity while on a bed.

He's kind of, mentally talking himself down and not really focusing so when Naruto says: "**Help me get off** here **and** **take me in**to **the bathroom**."

The bold parts are what his mind - already in a perverted haze - catches onto more strongly. So for a moment, all he hears is an impatient Naruto wanting Sasuke to ~do things to him.

So yeah, in case you didn't get it - which I don't really blame you for - that's the reason behind it, hehe.


	5. Chapter 5

**Disclaimer:** The list of things I own are regrettably slim and nowhere on that piece of paper is there anything to do with the possession of the Naruto characters. They belong on a much bigger list that is not only unfortunately hard to steal but comes with a big, fat, heterosexual stamp on it. Life sucks that way.

**Full Summary:** Naruto gets severely injured saving Sasuke's life on a mission and even with his healing he's still in the hospital two weeks after the incident. The only way he can be allowed out is if someone's willing to take care of him. Sasuke may just be offering himself up for the task - but what's the catch?

**Pairing List:** Sasuke/Naruto

**Chapters:** 5/8

**Updates:** Each chapter should be posted every four days after the previous one unless outside interference prevents me from reaching the internet/computer to upload it.

**Beta:** This chapter actually had the efforts to two betas. The lovely and sweet FlyingTackle and the amazing and awesome Lady Ivvy so let's give it up for both these fantastic ladies! *hugs them both*

**A/N:** Here it is, chapter five - and wow, over halfway done, aren't we? Time sure does fly when you're posting a story, haha. I'm really thrilled that so many people like it, so thank you all for your lovely reviews; they mean so much to me. *hugs you all* Let's hope I can keep you all happy with the rest of the story, hmm? So how about you read on and we'll see ;)

* * *

_Chapter 5_

When Naruto woke up the next morning, his face instantly formed into a confused frown; there was no way he was laying on a pillow. He opened his eyes - careful to keep his breathing even and his body still; he focused on what he was leaning against.

Relief quickly rushed over him as he noticed a familiar blue shirt, remembering the previous night and determining that he was currently wrapped around Sasuke. Stifling a yawn so he wouldn't wake the other, Naruto blinked away his sleepiness and slowly lifted his head so he could look up at the Uchiha. Sasuke was resting peacefully.

His hair was framing his pale face that had an almost happy expression on it.

Naruto found himself staring.

He'd seen Sasuke sleeping before, but it was always with a small scowl or stiffness to his limbs that gave the impression he was ready to spring into action at the smallest disturbance. Naruto had long since given up on figuring out why Sasuke _always_ frowned, but he had put some considerable time into trying to understand his inability to sleep normally.

Naruto could accept his tense posture on missions, when you couldn't let your guard down even when resting, but one of the few times Sasuke had crashed at his house - too tired to trek to his own home - he had been rigid then, too.

_So why,_ he thought with disbelief, _is he relaxed_ now_?_

Did he really crave human contact so much that one night in the same bed went this far?

_Or,_ that same annoying and traitorous part of his mind whispered again, _maybe it's just because it was one night with_ you_._

Naruto blanched. "Yeah, right, like I could do anything to protect either of us right now," he frowned. "Or maybe it's because I _am_ defenceless. That makes it easier for him; there's no threat."

Although something about that idea didn't feel quite right, it made enough sense that Naruto was willing to go with it - even if it implied that Sasuke didn't trust him unless he couldn't fight.

But then, why let him stay in his house? God, Sasuke was more confusing than any jutsu could ever be.

Still scowling, Naruto leant forward slightly, studying Sasuke's face. Why was he so unreadable all the damn time? And hell, why was his skin so perfect? He'd never noticed it before, but seriously, he was inches away and it was flawless.

How did he keep himself so… Naruto's thoughts trailed off, his eyes widening slightly when Sasuke's eyelids flicked open.

_**Shit!**_

That was the only thing that passed through his mind before, in one movement, he found himself on his back with the wind knocked out of him as Sasuke leant over him, one hand on his chest and the other raised as if to punch him.

They both blinked in surprise before Sasuke quickly jumped away as if burned; pushing himself up against the headboard of the bed. Naruto slowly untangled himself from the sheet and sat up as well. Sasuke refused to meet his eyes and Naruto took the moment to press a hand to his chest. Although Sasuke hadn't put too much pressure on him, he was still recovering from his wounds, and that meant the flip had done enough to not only strain his muscles, but to make his chest ache where the wound from the sword had once been. It was also a little harder to breathe, too.

"How badly are you hurt?" Sasuke asked, a rough edge to his voice, and Naruto couldn't decide whether it was because he had just woken up or because of some kind of emotion. He personally hoped Sasuke was just half-awake.

"Everything just got stretched and shocked, I think." Naruto cautiously spread out his arms before moving the rest of his body. When nothing protested too much, his grin became a tad mischievous. "As long as you don't throw me on the bed and straddle me again, I'll live."

The comment was meant to be made in jest, but Sasuke didn't seem to take it that way. His face closed off before he looked away, his muscles tense and his face hidden behind his bangs. Naruto's eyes narrowed; if Sasuke was feeling guilty, he was going to get hit.

Sure, Sasuke probably should have been more alert and not attacked him like that, but Naruto would have done the same thing if he'd been shocked awake by someone leaning over him in bed.

Then again, Sasuke could just be tapping into that well of weirdness and be freaking out over sharing a bed with someone and relaxing around them. Regardless of the fact that _he_ was the one who had suggested living together in the first place.

This really was going to be harder than he had first thought; he even had to _placate_ the guy now. His life was ridiculous.

"Don't worry about it, Sasuke," Naruto told him as seriously as he could, even when he was internally grumbling some unpleasant things about his friend. "I know you're not used to having people you can trust close to you."

Sasuke didn't show any sign of even hearing him, but before Naruto could say anything more, Sasuke was climbing out of the bed. "This is an incident we won't repeat, Naruto. I'm sure you can watch movies without my company from now on."

Naruto stared at Sasuke for a long moment. He wasn't entirely sure how he could phrase all the incredulity and agitation he felt into one statement. He wasn't even sure that if he came up with the perfect reply to what Sasuke had said that he would be able to work his throat into getting it out without punching Sasuke to a pulp at the same time.

What part of what he just said could Sasuke have possibly interpreted to make him think Naruto hadn't liked sleeping with him?

_Wait._ Naruto winced. _That came out wrong._

Shaking his head slightly to clear it, he placed his attention back on the Uchiha. Maybe if he got him talking, Naruto could find a way to agitate him enough that he'd admit what his problem was; it had worked for him in the past.

"What are you talking about, bastard?"

"Forget it." Sasuke said quickly - a little _too_ quickly, in Naruto's opinion. "I'll go make breakfast."

Sasuke started to turn and leave the room, and Naruto knew he had to do something fast if he wanted to keep this conversation going and keep Sasuke from crawling back into his emotionless shell.

"Wait!" Naruto called out, his mind going a mile a minute, "How long will breakfast be? I'll need to shower first, and I can't get there by myself."

Naruto internally congratulated himself. Let's see Sasuke get out of that one! The Uchiha would have to help him to the shower, and in doing so he'd have a chance to convince Sasuke that getting close to him wasn't a bad thing. They didn't have to share a bed again - even if Sasuke was kind of really comfortable. That was what girls were for anyway.

"Breakfast will be in about twenty minutes," Sasuke replied, and Naruto started to grin.

Score one for-

Naruto's internal triumph was cut short as Sasuke's hands moved at a speed he couldn't quite detect before a shadow clone was standing beside him. "He'll help you into the shower and downstairs."

Without waiting for a response, Sasuke walked out of the room and left his shadow clone standing a few metres away. It had the same superior stance and bored expression as it walked closer to the bed - now directly in front of the blond.

Unable to release his frustration on the original, Naruto proclaimed, "You're a damn show off who has no communication skills and is forever making my life painful, do you know that?"

The clone just rolled his eyes, muttering an 'idiot' under his breath as it helped Naruto into a standing position before leading him to the chest of drawers that held his clothes. He knew Sasuke would get the memory of this when the clone disappeared, but to Naruto that was too long away.

Sasuke would no doubt be using this time to become even more engrained in his "I-don't-need-people" attitude. It was enough to make Naruto seriously consider stomping down the stairs, finding Sasuke and… well, beating the shit out of him had never worked when he was a genin or during that time Sasuke was gone, but it sure as hell had made him feel better.

He sighed loudly and rather over-dramatically, making the clone glance at him briefly, but he didn't comment. Naruto was only mildly disappointed; he wanted to bitch at someone, and a Sasuke clone would have worked just fine. Then again, he was trying to be a good friend and prove that Sakura was wrong and that they _could_ get along, so maybe not.

And as much as Naruto hated to admit it, if he wanted to do both of those things, this would have to be one of the few circumstances in which he'd have to come up with a plan. It wasn't that he was bad at or even against them; he just preferred to do things on the spot. His life had always worked out better for him that way, so why mess with a good thing?

"Can you do the rest by yourself?" Sasuke's clone asked, and Naruto blinked out of his thoughts. They had walked into the bathroom without him noticing, and the clone had already put his clothes beside the basin.

Naruto nodded, and the clone removed his arm from Naruto's waist before walking out of the bathroom. "I'll be in the bedroom when you're done."

The clone shut the door and Naruto was left to himself. Turning to look at the mirror, Naruto ran a hand through his hair, feeling both annoyed at Sasuke in general, and worried that he wouldn't be able to help him.

"You had better appreciate everything I'm doing for you," he said softly.

When nothing but silence greeted him, he just sighed before he started pulling off his clothes, his mind still focused on his best friend.

He had better think of a damn good plan if he was going to get away with this.

**-break-**

By the time his shower had ended, Naruto felt only the tiniest sliver more secure in his theory about Sasuke. He had spent his time looking over all the information and the - loose - facts he had collected over the past week since waking up in the hospital.

He was still stumped.

All his brain could tell him solidly was that Sasuke was a confusing, indecisive asshole who took pleasure in making Naruto frustrated. And apart from Sasuke's added unease in Naruto's company, he really hadn't changed much.

Letting out a sigh, Naruto ran a hand through his still wet locks while staring at the mirror with a frown. His hand securely held his towel around his waist making half of his seal visible. Usually he was self-conscious of it, but right now he barely noticed it; his mind was still too much of a jumbled mess.

He knew that Sasuke was acting strangely; he knew it in his _gut_. Which was why it was annoying that all the physical proof seemed to point at him just being overly paranoid. His instinct would usually win out in a case like this, but he was trying to be a bit more guarded this time. He couldn't afford for his theory to be wrong when he didn't have his chakra to keep Sasuke from killing him. He also didn't want to end up back at the hospital.

But maybe it would be the effort that counted? Granted, Sasuke had never given a damn about _effort_ before, only about success. Yet how could you succeed if you didn't try? Exactly; you couldn't. So he'd just have to try - and Sasuke always had seemed more responsive to the stuff he came out with over everybody else - and since logic and strategy were never really his strong suit , walking in blindly and hoping for the best had the higher percentage of working, right?

_This is confusing. _

Naruto groaned and lightly rubbed his temples. He could feel a headache coming on.

"Fucking Sasuke; he has never stopped making my life difficult." Scowling at the mirror and imagining his friend's face instead of his own, he said angrily, "Do you hear me, Sasuke? You're an impossible asshole!"

In hindsight, Naruto probably should have remembered that he was in Sasuke's house wearing a towel before he started raising his voice.

"Stop calling me an asshole-" Sasuke cut himself off at the same time Naruto jumped, spinning around to find Sasuke frozen with one foot in the bathroom.

Unfortunately, the abrupt movement was enough to dislodge his loosely tied towel, and with a rather high-pitched squeak, Naruto found himself scrambling for the material as it descended. Naruto would like to believe that he had caught it before he was bared to his friend, but he had a sinking feeling that it was more like when it reached his knees.

Wrapping it tightly back around himself, he held it in a death grip as he shouted, mortified and with flushed cheeks, "I DIDN'T SAY YOU COULD COME IN!"

Sasuke didn't move for a second - his eyes wide, jaw slightly dropped and a deep crimson blush on his cheeks - before he quickly turned on his heel and fled the scene. It was only as he was leaving that Naruto noticed the other Sasuke just behind him, and that when he was bumped into - by the Sasuke that had seen him - he vanished in a puff of smoke.

_Oh no, oh no. Oh God, please tell me that was not the real Sasuke. __**Please**__._

Naruto ducked his head and squeezed his eyes shut. As much as he wanted to keep praying and denying it, he had definitely just been caught naked by his best friend.

"Fuuuuuck," Naruto groaned, straightening and running a hand over his face, which was still a little pink. "As if I needed one more thing for him to freak out about."

_Just him? Not you? You're happy he saw you naked?_

Naruto grimaced before pulling on his clothes and responding out loud, "N-No, that's. That's not true! I mean, I just… I just know it's not a big deal. Embarrassing, sure, but I mean. We're _both_ guys and it's _Sasuke_. That means there's no reason to feel bothered when naked in front of him."

He pretended not to notice that he was trying to convince his own inner voice - and therefore himself - of that fact, and concerned himself instead with hanging his towel on the towel rack, grabbing his dirty clothes and throwing them in the hamper.

After tidying the room as much as he could, he quickly ran out of stalling tactics and had to reluctantly make his way towards the door. His legs were a little bit shaky from having been on them for so long, but there was no way in hell he was calling Sasuke into the bathroom to help him. The whole situation was too uncomfortable already; he didn't need them both coming back to the scene of the crime.

Reaching the door, he let out a loud sigh; with his luck this would make Sasuke even less responsive to his attempts at a conversation. But then again, he'd already lost most of his dignity already, so what else did he have to worry about?

Well, there was that ever looming 'what does Sasuke want out of me' question - because Sasuke would obviously have a fall-back so his loneliness wouldn't be recognised - but, oh, fuck it. It couldn't be worse than some of the other things his friend had put him through over the years.

_And you're still stalling._

"Yes, yes, I know. Shut up." Naruto put a hand on the doorknob while shaking his head slightly and muttering under his breath, "Maybe I should get my head checked too. Hearing and responding to the sarcastic voice in your head has to be a sign of insanity."

Sighing at the thought, he just smiled somewhat sardonically before opening the door, keeping a firm hold on the handle as he stepped into the room. The sight that greeted him, however, had him blinking before frowning quizzically, almost not sure if he wanted to laugh or ask Sasuke what the fuck he was doing.

Sasuke was making his bed, and while the action itself wasn't one to usually inspire amused disbelief, the fact that Sasuke's movements were jerky as he did everything - including fluffing the pillows - proved how awkward he was truly feeling. He was scowling, too, but that was hardly anything new. Still, when Sasuke went back to the pillows, Naruto had to wonder, was it really called 'fluffing' when it looked like the pillows were about to explode?

"Do you really need to punch that pillow into oblivion?" Naruto asked, a slight trace of humour seeping into his voice.

Sasuke shot him a glare, and Naruto decided he could survive the brunt of Sasuke's anger if it meant that one of the most comfortable things he had ever slept on remained intact. But to Naruto's surprise, Sasuke didn't say anything. He just turned back to the pillow and shoved it against the headboard in disgust. Naruto almost sighed. He didn't really want to fight with Sasuke; he just wanted the awkward anger Sasuke had collected throughout the morning to disappear so they could have breakfast in peace.

"So, Sasuke," he began, trying his best to sound casual, "now that you've finished beating my bed into submission, can we go eat?"

Once again, Sasuke didn't say anything in response. He just calmly walked over to Naruto and grabbed his left arm, putting it around his shoulders while wrapping his right arm around Naruto's waist. Naruto frowned before leaning forward so he could angle his face almost directly in front of the Uchiha's.

Sasuke's eyes narrowed, and if he didn't have to stay where he was to keep supporting him, Naruto had no doubts he would have flinched away at having his personal space violated.

"_What?_" He snarled.

Naruto continued to study him, pretending not to notice the venom in his voice. "You're not a clone, are you?"

Sasuke's jaw clenched, and Naruto was almost tempted to poke his face, but he didn't want to push his luck. "No."

This time, Naruto couldn't resist the urge, and he flicked Sasuke's cheek, "Then talk to me, asshole."

Sasuke's eye twitched. "Do that again and I will throw you through a wall."

"Awh, you'd never do that to me, Sasuke," Naruto said in a teasing voice, pressing closer to Sasuke as he said it. He was confident that Sasuke wouldn't so much as pinch him when they were walking the way they were and with him still injured.

"I've done worse," Sasuke replied quietly. His face was blank, and he looked as if he wasn't even interested in the conversation. For a second, Naruto bought it, and he was about to make a quip about how _no shit, that Chidori hurt like a _bitch, _bastard._ But then the words suddenly caught up with him, and with it, the tone of Sasuke's voice.

He felt like he'd been thrown through a loop before landing hard against the floor, because he'd been paying enough attention this time that Naruto was not only able but shocked to hear the _guilt_ in Sasuke's voice.

Sasuke had felt bad about it all this time? Why the fuck didn't he say anything? He couldn't honestly think that Naruto still held a grudge over it... could he? No, no. He had to have heard wrong-

"Naruto?" Sasuke questioned sharply.

-but then why did he look so alarmed?

"Um," Naruto blinked. "Huh?"

He noticed then that Sasuke had stopped them in the foyer, and while he didn't think they'd walked far, the unease in Sasuke's posture and the way his eyes were darting all over Naruto's face suggested it had been long enough.

"Sasuke-" Naruto began, but Sasuke cut him off.

"You zoned out. Are you having trouble focusing?" His tone was businesslike, and he grabbed Naruto's wrist, seeming to check his pulse. "Are you having a dizzy spell?"

Sasuke kept talking, but Naruto wasn't really listening. _Was the guilt from thinking I was overworked? Or was it from the Chidori? Was it even guilt at all? Was I just reading too much into things?_

Naruto looked at Sasuke again. _Only one way to find out…_

"You know that I forgive you for everything that happened while you were gone, right?" Sasuke froze, and when he looked at Naruto, his eyes had widened fractionally. Naruto still wasn't sure if it was what Sasuke needed to hear or not, but he figured he might as well finish what he'd started. They'd never spoken about it, after all. Maybe this was the time to do it? "I mean it, Sasuke. I may use parts of it as ammunition in our arguments, but I've never actually held a grudge against you for it, even when you were starting those plans to destroy Konoha. You've proven that it's in your past now, and if I hadn't believed and trusted you, I wouldn't have stood by your side and fought to get the council to let you back in."

Sasuke was still staring at him with an unreadable face when he finished.

_Now would probably be a good time to hug him_, the little voice chirped up. Only, unlike all the other times, he could swear it sounded like Sakura._ You need him to open up to you._

Despite his misgivings about little voices in his head, this time it did seem to have a good idea, so turning his body slightly, he used the arm already on Sasuke's shoulders to pull him closer, moving his right arm to slip around Sasuke's back.

Sasuke stiffened noticeably, and his voice had dropped to freezing point when he spoke, "What are you doing?"

"Hugging you. Now shut up and deal with it."

He was honestly expecting to be shoved away and possibly yelled at - there was also the small part that thought Sasuke might stand there and grudgingly take it - but what he _hadn't_ expected was to feel a small sigh brush his neck as Sasuke leaned into the embrace. It was only for a moment, but in those few seconds Naruto felt like his whole world had shifted. _He smells nice - this _is _nice_.

Sasuke jolted him out of his thoughts by breaking away from him. Putting a hand to Naruto's chest, he gently pushed him away. "You get weird when you've been in a hospital."

"It's called a hug, Sasuke." Naruto dryly said, falling easily back into familiar patterns. "Learn to be a little more human, would you?"

"Not everyone craves physical contact like you do, Naruto."

"You really should take that stick out of your ass; I read somewhere that hugs and shit can actually help extend your lifespan."**[1]**

Sasuke shot him a look. "You _read_ something?"

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Asshole. I'm trying to be serious here!"

"You're right; I should pay attention. It's not like you're an idiot every day of the week."

Naruto punched Sasuke, not even caring how weak he was. "Bastard."

Sasuke just smirked tauntingly, and although Naruto acted perturbed on the outside, he was internally grateful that things were back to normal. After all, there wasn't anything strange about two friends hugging or one ninja accidentally seeing the other naked in the bathroom. The second happened all the time on missions, he was sure, so the only reason it had felt weird at the time was because Sasuke was an anti-social recluse, and because they had been enemies and rivals for so long. That was all. And as for the hug, well, they just weren't used to being emotional around each other. It wasn't as if they _liked_ it.

_Yeah, right._

Naruto pointedly ignored that voice.

**-break-**

It didn't take them much longer to reach the kitchen - oh, you know, just down one long hallway, past about twenty doors and then through a room Naruto assumed was the lounge room - but despite his slightly shaking legs, when Naruto had smelt and seen the food in the kitchen, his mouth had practically watered.

Sasuke had made a rather large bowl of rice porridge; there was both toast and bread with various spreads beside them, and there was also a pile of about ten pancakes which had red bean paste or maple syrup to choose from beside it. **[2]**

Shrugging away from Sasuke, Naruto hurried - as fast as his sore legs would take him - over to the table and sat down in a chair, his eyes scanning the meal with glee.

"Tea, water or orange juice?" Sasuke asked while setting a kettle and mugs on the table.

"Orange juice," Naruto replied absently while grabbing two pancakes, the red bean paste and one of the bowls Sasuke had put on the table for their porridge.

Sasuke put the carton down beside Naruto before taking his own seat opposite the blond. Naruto muttered his thanks as he finished collecting his food and put the porridge pot and bean paste back in the centre of the table

Glancing at Sasuke - his blessing having been murmured **[3]** and his knife and fork raised and ready to cut into his pancake - he saw that the Uchiha was watching him with faint amusement as he poured his tea.

"What?" Naruto asked in confusion.

"Nothing," Sasuke answered simply before placing the kettle down and starting to get his own food.

Naruto could feel his stomach rumbling, but he couldn't bring himself to eat yet. Not only was he now curious as to what had gotten Sasuke almost smiling, but he also felt rude eating before Sasuke started - he had been the one to cook everything, after all.

Resisting the urge to tap his fingers while Sasuke _slowly_ served up his food – couldn't the Uchiha see he was being polite and _starving_ while he did it? - Naruto settled for asking, "So, when are you going to train today?"

Sasuke frowned at him. "I'm not training today."

"Oh? You're taking the day off?" Naruto nodded. "That's cool. You must have been having a lot of missions lately without me around." He grinned. "I am the best after all, so it only makes sense you'd be unable to handle _my_ workload."

"Idiot. Your missions are anything but hard." Sasuke's frown faded to something more serious. "I simply won't be training while you're here."

Naruto blinked. "Wait. Come again?"

"I'm looking after you," Sasuke stated simply, "I don't have the time to train."

"Now just wait a minute!" Naruto snapped, feeling his anger ignite like a match. "You're seriously going to sit there and tell me that for the indefinite future, you are going to slack on your training just because I'm here?"

"I have to watch you," Sasuke told him coldly, his own agitation spiking at the presence of Naruto's. "That doesn't give me many other options, does it?"

"Of course it does, you idiot," Naruto gestured at the house vaguely. "You've got a mansion with who knows how much backyard. Just go out there and train!"

Sasuke's eyes narrowed. "What part of, 'I have to watch you' don't you understand?"

"Set me out there under a damn tree!" Naruto rebutted. "I am not having you bitch and whine next week over how you can't throw a shuriken anymore."

"You can't forget how to throw a shuriken in a week," Sasuke grumbled.

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Now how about you go train after breakfast, and I'll tell you how shit you are compared to me?" He picked up the knife and fork he had put down during the argument and started cutting up some of his pancake. Twirling it on the fork, a shit-eating grin formed as he questioned, "That work for you? Or would you rather stay in here and be my housewife and nurse?"

Picking up his own utensils, Sasuke stated, "I'm going to impale you with a kunai when we get out there."

Naruto was unconcerned by the threat; Sasuke was all bark and no bite these days.

Popping the piece of pancake in his mouth, Naruto's eyes closed without his permission as a small moan escaped. _So. Good._ Cutting up an even bigger piece, he chewed it hungrily.

"Shit, Sasuke, did you make this?" He asked.

Sasuke looked decidedly uncomfortable when Naruto glanced at him, and while he doubted it was modesty at his cooking skills, Naruto honestly couldn't be bothered to figure it out right now. The food was too good, and he wasn't about to waste valuable eating time focusing on theories.

"Yeah," Sasuke finally answered when Naruto had taken the time to try the rice pudding instead of gorging on the pancakes.

He made another sound when the new flavour touched his tongue. It was more of a whimper this time, but he didn't care as he declared, "I'm never leaving. Ever. This is _so good_."

Having another large spoonful, he eyed the table with calculating eyes. _How much of this could I get away with eating?_ He moved his gaze to Sasuke, about to ask if he could eat the whole damn meal when he noticed that Sasuke was focused on his food, and his face had a weird but somehow familiar look to it.

It took Naruto a few moments before he could place it. _Wistful, he looks wistful_.

Suddenly Sasuke was pushing his chair back. "I'm going to get ready. I'll be back in ten minutes, and we'll head outside."

Not waiting for a response, Sasuke grabbed a piece of toast before leaving the room abruptly. Craning his head to follow the other, Naruto stared after him in incredulity.

"Why do you always have to ruin a perfectly normal conversation by making it confusing as all hell?" Naruto asked the empty room while turning back in his seat to face the table.

Letting out a loud sigh, Naruto started eating his food with a lot less vigour than before. _What made you so sad, Sasuke?_ He suddenly straightened and stared at the seat Sasuke had vacated with wide eyes.

_Is it because you don't want me to leave? _Naruto ran a hand through his hair as a more pressing question came to mind._ But if it is… why do you want me to stay?_

_Better yet, _the same voice that he was trying so hard to disregard asked loudly,_ how much do _you want_ to stay?_

Naruto swallowed. Well, damn. How could he ignore that one?

* * *

**A/N:** Well, how did we go? I actually didn't like the beginning of this chapter for the longest time and I had to edit and re-write it a couple of times until I was happy with it. What do you guys think? Did the chapter turn out okay? Let me know, alright? :)

**Number Notes:**

**[1]** - I don't know if this is actually true or not but it's part of an episode ("_Are you being served?_") in the TV show _Fraiser_. I was reminded of it when writing the scene and it sounded like something Naruto would say to support his argument while being strange enough that Sasuke wouldn't take it seriously.

But yeah, I just thought I'd let you know that to my knowledge there is no scientific proof behind this theory, nonetheless, I think it's a decent idea and I'm happily behind it. There needs to be more hugs in the world :D

**[2]** - I probably spent way longer than necessary fretting over whether to have traditional Japanese breakfasts or those that I (and the majority of the readers) would have in their own homes. In the end, I decided that I couldn't really dismiss one without the other so I just combined them both, but kept it with a heavier accent on the Japanese end. (I also think that since this is _Sasuke_ making it - who seems to be kind of traditional by nature - he would lean towards things his mother used to make when he was a child.)

**[3]** - There was no other possible way I could think of him saying "_Itadakimasu_" in English without it sounding corny. It also didn't feel right _not_ having him say it either, so this is what you got I'm afraid, heh.


	6. Chapter 6

**Disclaimer:** The list of things I own are regrettably slim and nowhere on that piece of paper is there anything to do with the possession of the Naruto characters. They belong on a much bigger list that is not only unfortunately hard to steal but comes with a big, fat, heterosexual stamp on it. Life sucks that way.

**Full Summary:** Naruto gets severely injured saving Sasuke's life on a mission and even with his healing he's still in the hospital two weeks after the incident. The only way he can be allowed out is if someone's willing to take care of him. Sasuke may just be offering himself up for the task - but what's the catch?

**Pairing List:** Sasuke/Naruto

**Chapters:** 6/8

**Updates:** Each chapter should be posted every four days after the previous one unless outside interference prevents me from reaching the internet/computer to upload it.

**Beta:** "In eighteen years precisely the planets will align ever so nicely…" – "Aye, verse." WAIT, WHAT! I'm sorry; I was distracted, by my beta. But that's okay, since it's her a/n anyway. So let's all celebrate and give thanks to the awesomeness that is Lady Ivvy! She's so fast and so efficient that she's going to have me running out of work to give her soon D: But regardless of that, everyone applaud her and give her awesome shit, yeah? Please and thank you! Lol.

**A/N:** Things are starting to get serious now, my friends. After all, there are only two more chapters after this so you know everything's beginning to well, get connected in our little blond's head. Although there is still some of that adorable naivety, in fact, it helps to cause one of my favourite scenes in this story. I wonder if you can guess what I mean… enjoy ;)

* * *

_Chapter 6_

Some twenty minutes after Sasuke had left, Naruto was staring at his empty plate, lost in thoughts. It had taken him almost five minutes to force his mind to slow down enough that he could eat without throwing it back up. His body, it seemed, was not well enough to take on panic at the moment.

After calming himself down and eating half of the food on his plate, he'd slowly come to terms with the fact that while he still didn't know what was plaguing Sasuke, he was pretty sure he'd figured himself out. He liked Sasuke's company, and he knew he'd only be lonely when he returned to his own apartment. He liked having someone to eat meals with, to talk to and bait during the day and… despite his initial shock at discovering it, he liked sharing a bed with Sasuke too. He didn't mean it in a weird and _gay_ way; he just thought Sasuke was comfortable and, you know, warm.

_Yeah, sure, that's not gay __**at all**__._

"I fucking hate that voice," he grumbled.

"What voice?" Sasuke drawled from behind him.

Turning sharply in his chair, Naruto blinked at the other. Sasuke was now wearing a plain black shirt and loose fitting dark blue pants; both items had a few rips in them, and Naruto could only concluded that they were his home training clothes.

Seeing the other was still staring at him with slight curiosity, Naruto quickly murmured, a small blush dusting his face. "It's nothing." Raising his voice, he continued while pushing out his chair. "Ready to go now, bastard?"

Sasuke 'hn'd and Naruto nearly groaned. They'd been free of the non-committal answers for almost a whole hour, they'd had such progress! Why was Sasuke going back to the old, annoying grunts? No, screw why. It was just going to stop, simple as that.

Standing up, Naruto kept one hand on the back of his chair while he levelled Sasuke with a glare. "Don't 'hn' me, asshole or I will throw a pancake at your face."

A small sneer twisted Sasuke lips. "With your accuracy the way it is I'll be cleaning the floor, not my hair; so don't even try it."

"You're such a fucking pretty boy, you know that?" Naruto replied as Sasuke started heading over to him. "Everything's always about your hair."

Sasuke paused, frowning slightly. "I never talk about my hair."

"You don't have to, it's immaculate positioning speaks for itself. How many products are _in_ that thing? I'm surprised it's not flammable."

"I didn't know the style of my hair was of such importance to you, Naruto." Sasuke drawled.

Walking the few steps needed, Naruto put his arm around Sasuke's shoulders to not only steady himself - although his muscles were getting better - but get them ready for the trek outside. "It's a duck's butt, Sasuke. Everyone's always thought it, but I was the only kid with enough guts to say it."

Sasuke glared at him. "It is not a duck's butt."

"Is so," Naruto replied petulantly, as they started walking towards a door Naruto hadn't been through.

Turning to reply further, Naruto was distracted by how close Sasuke's hair actually was. Grinning as he got an idea, Naruto craned his head closer so that his nose was buried in the raven locks.

He felt Sasuke go rigid beside him. "What are you doing?"

"Smelling your hair," Naruto answered absently while trying to see if he could distinguish the scents, and therefore the products in Sasuke's hair.

It was annoyingly free of anything other than lavender though - which Naruto assumed was his shampoo. It did smell nice though, if not a little bit girly.

"Would you stop it," Sasuke bit out through clenched teeth, while tightening his hold on Naruto's waist, making the blonde wince.

"Okay, okay. Stop squeezing me." Naruto pulled back, pouting slightly. "You really don't like people getting into your personal space do you?"

"No, I don't," Sasuke snapped while pulling Naruto at a faster pace than usual out the door.

Naruto frowned, wanting to protest at being yanked so hard, but when he got a glimpse at Sasuke's face, he refrained. Sasuke's jaw was clenched shut tightly and he looked _pissed_. Naruto figured that was one battle he didn't want to get further involved in just yet, so with a sigh, he settled on memorising the route to the backyard. Hopefully Sasuke would work off whatever tension was bothering him during his training.

**-break-**

"Holy shit, your yard is huge."

That was the only thing Naruto could think of to say when they turned a corner in the path that put them in front of Sasuke's garden that - in Naruto's opinion - was more like a large chunk of the forest bordering Konoha.

While the more normal shrubs, flowers and bushes found in a garden had surrounded the small path they had walked down on either side - pressing against the house and compound wall - this was just incredible. There was a large open space that was something of a glade, surrounded by trees that backed up against the walls. Various pathways broke through the plants and led into other sections that surrounded the Uchiha mansion - he was pretty sure he could see a koi pond down one of the left ones.

Straight ahead of them was the place he was now dubbing Konoha Forest; there were enough trees that Naruto couldn't even see the wall. There was also a small set up of practice logs and dummies with a collection of weapons laid out for Sasuke to train with. Naruto really wished he could do things on his own; he would _love_ to explore this place.

When Sasuke started moving them again, he snapped out of his thoughts - and ogling - and turned to the Uchiha. "Why don't you train here all the time? This place is amazing, and you wouldn't ever be interrupted by anyone!"

There was a long moment's silence before Sasuke quietly answered, "There's too many memories." Naruto couldn't stop the wince from escaping, but Sasuke was speaking again, his voice soft, and Naruto had never heard Sasuke speak with such affection, "But I do come out here sometimes; the garden was my mother's."

Naruto felt his eyes widen dramatically and he had to look away before Sasuke saw and closed up again. Sasuke never talked about his family; and maybe it was the environment doing it, but Naruto didn't want to break it. Scanning over the courtyard again with this new piece of information in mind, he imagined what it must have been like for Sasuke as a child. Naruto smiled slightly. "It's beautiful."

"It's how she left it." Sasuke responded, stopping them beside one of the cherry blossom trees. He wouldn't look at Naruto. "I've planted a few new things, but I've mostly just tended to it. Keeping it the same."

Reaching out, Naruto lightly touched the bark of the tree. He felt like he was being given a piece of Sasuke's past, a soft, loving memory and he wanted to absorb all he could and keep it safe. To prove Sasuke could trust him with things like this.

"Sasuke…" he trailed off before looking around once more. He didn't know what to say. Slowly looking at Sasuke, he said the only thing he could while squeezing Sasuke's shoulder. "Thank you."

The corner of Sasuke's mouth twitched up slightly into something resembling a soft smile, but it was gone as quick as it came as he changed the subject. "You should be out of the way if you sit here."

Naruto nodded. "Alright."

Unwrapping his arm from around Naruto, Sasuke helped him sit down before he straightened back into his original position as Naruto stretched out his legs, barely holding in a groan as his muscles began to relax.

Leaning back against the trunk of the tree, Naruto looked up and smiled, the leaves casting shadows on his face as they moved to the breeze, a few cherry blossoms falling off to scatter the ground around him. He'd have to try and catch some of them while Sasuke was training, it would be good to start working on his reflexes again.

_Speaking of…_

Tilting his head, Naruto looked back at the Uchiha. He hadn't moved from his original position, his hands in his pockets as he watched Naruto with that same, soft smile from before lightly curving his lips. As soon as he saw Naruto looking it faded and his face was devoid of emotion again. His voice came out impatient when he spoke, "Comfortable?"

Naruto knew he was trying to cover it up, but he didn't bother mentioning it and let Sasuke have his way. "I'm _fine_. Stop trying to get out of training already. God, you're worse then Shikamaru."

"I don't want you to die on me, idiot. The report I'd have to fill out alone is reason enough to make sure you keep breathing."

Naruto made a show of breathing in and out. "What do you know? I can manage it without you. Now piss off, I'm going to get some beauty sleep."

"I hate to break it to you, but that only works for people who are moderately attractive to begin with."

"Hey!" Naruto replied indignantly, "I'm fucking gorgeous and you know it!"

Sasuke just let out a 'hn' before turning and making his way towards his makeshift training ground. Naruto scowled before shouting after him, "Giving no answer is just as good as agreeing to it!"

Just like Naruto suspected, Sasuke didn't respond.

Smirking to himself at having the last word, Naruto reclined back against the bark. Putting his arms up behind his head, he looked up through the leaves and he smiled as one of the flowers slowly drifted down to land on his nose. Laughing, he blew it off, allowing it to fall down onto his chest.

God, he really couldn't deny it anymore; he never wanted to leave.

**-break-**

Naruto wasn't sure how long he dozed for, but he didn't think it could have been more then half an hour, but when he woke up, he had to blink cherry blossoms out of his eyes. Getting into a sitting position - having slumped down the tree slightly in his sleep - he rubbed his eyes and yawned before stretching his back and looking over to where he'd last seen Sasuke.

His eyes widened when he spotted the other; Sasuke was standing with his back to Naruto, his shirt was on the ground and three clones were surrounding him, each holding a handful of shuriken and kunai. Naruto felt himself swallow as his eyes wracked over Sasuke's shoulders and the arch of his spine. His skin was flawless and didn't seem to have any scars; just a few scratches here and there. A thin layer of sweat covered his back, and Naruto found himself wondering if his chest and stomach would have it too.

Before he could find out, Sasuke and his clones suddenly disappeared and for a moment, Naruto didn't know what had happened, slowly though, as his eyes darted around the clearing, he started to see and hear the sound of blades colliding and the slight blur that symbolised their movements. Naruto almost growled at the reminder that his speed and senses had lost most of their enhancement and he was back to being a useless civilian.

_But __wait, I could sort of see it, right?_ Frowning, Naruto concentrated on the battle going on in front of him, trying to spot Sasuke and feel his chakra.

He still couldn't sense where Sasuke or his clones were going next, but he started to see the colour of their clothes when they collided. He knew it wasn't much, but Naruto was still thrilled by even that small amount of progress.

He was already getting better; he wouldn't be incompetent anymore! Which meant he'd be able to... he trailed off, his good mood plummeting sharply. If he was getting better then it wouldn't be long until he could go home again, and that meant he'd be leaving Sasuke.

Looking back up at the other - he only had one clone left and both Sasuke and the clone were doing jutsu's that were too fast for him to see - Naruto felt something tighten around his heart. _How will Sasuke take __news?_

"No," he whispered, "I just won't tell him yet, not until I know for sure that things are improving and that I'll have to leave."

When Sasuke disappeared from his sight again, Naruto winced, hoping that wasn't some kind of taste of things to come. He didn't want the progress they'd made in their friendship to evaporate when he went back to his own apartment. He didn't want Sasuke to go back to what he'd been, because slightly strange or not, he liked having this - somewhat open - Sasuke around.

_Or maybe it's just __**Sasuke**__ you-_

His thoughts were cut off when he heard the loud and unmistakable _thunk_ of a weapon embedding in a tree. He jumped about a foot in the air and turned to the side as he stared with horror at the half visible shuriken that had implanted in the tree about three inches away from the left side of his face.

Swallowing down the burst of panic that had gripped his heart at being caught so unawares by a weapon, he quickly let the emotion turn to anger as he directed it at the cause; the two white-faced, wide-eyed and frozen Uchiha's that were staring at him.

"WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU TRYING TO DO, KILL ME?" Naruto shouted at them.

He started to frown moments later as his cheek began to hurt, reaching up; he pressed a finger between his middle and lower whisker. Pulling it back, his eyes widened at the light smear of blood that now coated it.

"I… didn't mean to," Sasuke said, already in front of him and bending down, looking at the cut on Naruto's face with something akin to horror - or maybe guilt - in his eyes.

Naruto wasn't about to let that melt his agitation. "Well just _what_ did you mean to do? Did you forget I was sitting here or something? I can't dodge anything at the moment, you know!"

"I did," Sasuke practically whispered, his hand reaching out to lightly grasp Naruto's chin and turn it to the side to examine the cut better.

Still scowling, Naruto grudgingly let Sasuke look at his injury. "What?"

"I forgot you were here," he answered while reaching out and brushing a small trail of blood away with his finger. "I've never shown the garden to anyone else…"

Naruto felt his anger fade at that as warmth started to flow through him instead. He was _special_. The only one that Sasuke had trusted enough to show and talk about this with. Slowly turning his head, Naruto opened his mouth to speak, but stopped when he noticed Sasuke's eyes, they were so focused, and Naruto realised then that Sasuke's thumb was lightly stroking his jaw line.

Naruto swallowed thickly. _What is Sasuke doing?_ Despite the question running through his mind, Naruto couldn't find it in him to speak or move away. He was frozen, his whole world revolving around the hand cupping his face and the way his best friend was staring at him. Their eyes weren't even connected; Sasuke gaze was on his thumb, seemingly lost in a trance. In a way, it was even more powerful.

When Sasuke's hand stopped, Naruto felt his heart speed up as his stomach twisted. _Something's going to happen. Something's going to happen._ Naruto didn't know what this moment was, but some small part of him wasn't ready for it. The rest was pushing him forward but… but he couldn't. Everything was too much, his emotions too high.

"S-Sasuke?" He whispered, hoping Sasuke would do something to end the limbo or explain it - just something. He couldn't deal with the other's breath on his face, body heat radiating into his, and eyes so intense.

His words however, made Sasuke jerk back and let him go. He stood up abruptly and Naruto felt his heart plummet at the distance between them.

Where was that small part of him now? He could use a reason as to why reaching out and pulling Sasuke back beside him was a bad idea.

"I'll go get you a bandage," Sasuke rushed out, and before Naruto could protest he had left with a breeze and a collection of leaves. Naruto found himself turning and looking at the Uchiha mansion, knowing the other had to be somewhere within those walls.

As the emotions brought about by Sasuke's proximity faded, his confusion took its place. What the hell had just happened? Why had Sasuke reacted so violently to him speaking? Why had _he_ been so responsive to whatever that thing between them was?

_Fuck_, he ran a hand through his hair. _Fuck, fuck, __**fuck**__._

**-break-**

By the time Sasuke came back, the cut had long since stopped bleeding and - much to Naruto's relief - his stomach had also stopped its attempts to twist itself into a knot. His heart's rhythm however, still seemed slightly out of whack.

"Here," Sasuke said, not quite looking at Naruto as he tossed him the bandage.

Naruto only just managed to catch it - his attempts with the cherry blossoms before he fell asleep was probably behind that - and with a slightly incredulously look, he asked Sasuke, "How exactly do you expect me to put this on without a mirror?"

"You can feel where the pain is, can't you?" Sasuke replied calmly.

Naruto frowned at him. Okay, he could understand that what had just happened between them was kind of… awkward, but that didn't mean Sasuke had to be an ass about it. Besides, they had might as well nip this thing in the butt before it got worse. They'd have to get close to one another again so Sasuke could help him get back into the house. It really wasn't a big deal.

_Sure, it isn't. That's why your heart won't stop pounding._

Naruto had to resist the urge to tell his own head to shut up. So instead, he focused his agitation on Sasuke.

"Is this more of your personal space issues?" He held up the bandage. "Unless you take me inside, you're the one who's going to have to do this."

Sasuke shot him a strange look. He looked… "You want me to do it?"

… Confused?

"Ah, yeah." Naruto was feeling a bit puzzled now too. "Why wouldn't I?"

Sasuke seemed to hesitate for a moment before he bent down and snatched the small bandage from Naruto. "You always whine about how people are pinching your skin or hurting you when they mend you. It gets annoying."

Naruto rolled his eyes as Sasuke brought his hands up to Naruto's cheek, pulling a cotton ball from his pants to wipe at the blood. Naruto felt his heart increase it's thumping and hoped it didn't show. "Whatever. I asked for you to do it, didn't I?"

"Like that means anything," Sasuke muttered, and Naruto glanced at him from the corner of his eye. Sasuke was once again focused on the side of his face, but that wasn't what had caught his attention. Sasuke's response had sounded… had sounded almost… bitter.

"There," Sasuke declared, startling Naruto and making him dart his eyes back in front of him, hoping Sasuke hadn't noticed his own observation.

It seemed luck was momentarily on his side as Sasuke stood up, his hands going into his pockets with the leftover rubbish from bandaging him.

"Thanks." Standing up with the help of the tree, Naruto noticed the shuriken was still embedded in it, but knowing he wouldn't be able to pull it out - and not wanting to make a fool out of himself because of that - he ignored it. "Are we going inside now?"

Once again Sasuke seemed to pause before he walked over to Naruto. He wrapped his arm around the other's waist and Naruto quickly put his hand around Sasuke's shoulders in return.

Naruto could feel his heart begin its rapid-fire pounding at being pressed so close to a shirtless Sasuke, but they had barely taken a few steps when his mind shifted to another problem, one that quickly helped to quell his heartbeat. Sasuke was barely touching him.

He was acting as if he'd rather be anywhere but where he was and Naruto internally grimaced at the thought. Something told him things were going to end up being awkward between them for a while.

_Shit_. He wished he could just go back to that moment and keep his mouth shut. That seemed to be the new cause of Sasuke's distance... and maybe even the cause of that – supposed, because this was _Sasuke_ after all - bitterness?

In hindsight, he probably should have just let whatever was happening before continue instead of chickening out the way he had.

_Well,_ _if something like that ever happens again_, he vowed, only a little nervously, _I'm going to let it happen; consequences be_ _damned._ He glanced at Sasuke again, before chewing his lip anxiously… _It can't be worse than this._

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**A/N:** There you have it people, the sixth chapter. *grins* What are your thoughts? Personally, I'm interested in what you think of the… ahem, 'shuriken' scene… but also in the rest of the chapter (and story) too - maybe also about how you feel over Sasuke mentioning his mother. I like the scene and wanted something emotional but I'm a little... unsure if it was okay, fit his character, etcetera. So, yeah, send me a review? (And yes, I will never stop asking for them as I a whiny review whore like that. Hehe.) Also, sorry the chapter's a little short, heh.


	7. Chapter 7

**Disclaimer:** The list of things I own are regrettably slim and nowhere on that piece of paper is there anything to do with the possession of the Naruto characters. They belong on a much bigger list that is not only unfortunately hard to steal but comes with a big, fat, heterosexual stamp on it. Life sucks that way.

**Full Summary:** Naruto gets severely injured saving Sasuke's life on a mission and even with his healing he's still in the hospital two weeks after the incident. The only way he can be allowed out is if someone's willing to take care of him. Sasuke may just be offering himself up for the task - but what's the catch?

**Pairing List:** Sasuke/Naruto

**Chapters:** 7/8

**Updates:** Each chapter should be posted every four days after the previous one unless outside interference prevents me from reaching the internet/computer to upload it.

**Beta:** "In eighteen years precisely the planets will align ever so nicely…" – "Aye, verse." WAIT, WHAT! I'm sorry; I was distracted, by my beta. But that's okay, since it's her a/n anyway. So let's all celebrate and give thanks to the awesomeness that is Lady Ivvy! She's so fast and so efficient that she's going to have me running out of work to give her soon D: But regardless of that, everyone applaud her and give her awesome shit, yeah? Please and thank you! Lol.

**A/N:** The only thing I have to say is to hope that the beginning isn't too... boring, I guess. It just makes me feel a little off, hopefully when I get this chapter back from my beta and re-upload it things will become a little less uh, excessive? Heh.

**A/Nx2 (Edited 25/04/10 or 04/25/10):** The user xoxheart [only in letter formate since for some reason it doesn't allow me to write your username normally...?] pointed out to me (in her review) what I had been worried about since I first posted this: the chapter just doesn't cut it. As such I have gone over and expanded, fixed and tightened the beginning of the story to something better then what it was. I hope you all enjoy.

* * *

_Chapter 7_

The rest of the day passed with almost no contact between them. Sasuke helped get Naruto to his room and after putting him on the bed, he quickly left to have a shower. Naruto hadn't thought much of it and had started watching TV, but he soon realised that unlike before Sasuke wasn't going to stay and instead he began periodically checking on him every two hours.

Naruto had wanted to complain, but since he still felt bad for inadvertently causing it, he settled for trying to start conversations with Sasuke. When that didn't work, he even tried resorting to petty arguments to keep Sasuke in the room; that still didn't get more then ten minutes out of him. He did manage to learn that Sakura would be stopping by to check up on him tomorrow though, but trying to involve that in their little 'chats' did little to decrease the awkwardness between them - in fact, it only seemed to double it.

In the end Naruto had just given up and resolved to let Sasuke brood for the rest of the night - of course, he had been tempted to take it back when they had dinner. They'd spent it in Naruto's room like the night before, and while Naruto had the distinct impression Sasuke had made the food, the raven had refused to even acknowledge Naruto's comment about how good it was. Naruto had been moments away from throwing his food at Sasuke.

He had been hoping that the awkward air would have had time to clear by the following morning, but when he woke up with sore muscles, the distinct feeling he hadn't slept enough and a crick in his neck, he figured this was probably some kind of ominous warning that he was in for a shit day.

Groaning slightly, he sat up in bed and rubbed his sore neck. He really didn't want to deal with Sasuke for a while, and especially not until he was showered and awake enough to do more then grunt back at him.

Glancing between the bedside drawer and the bathroom, he weighed up his options. _Could I make that?_

Deciding to give it a go, he summoned up his strength and determination and - with quite a few hisses of pain - he grabbed his clothes and carefully made his way towards the bathroom.

When he reached the room - something like five minutes later - he leant against the vanity, breathing hard but grinning widely at the fact that, _fuck yeah_, he did it.

Sliding down to the ground with a smile still tugging at his lips, he groaned lightly as he flexed and stretched out his muscles, his eyes slipping closed as he absorbed the cool temperature of the tiles and wall.

"I'm just going to rest here a bit," he mumbled tiredly.

"Really?" Sasuke suddenly hissed, making Naruto's eyes fly open before he snapped his head to look at his friend. The second he did, he cursed out loud and looked away again, a hand coming up to hold his injured muscle.

Sasuke bent down beside him and ripped Naruto's hand away, placing his own over the skin and making Naruto shiver.

"You. Are. Such. An. Idiot." Sasuke bit out each word, his eyes narrowed dangerously even as he applied a healing jutsu on Naruto's neck.

Naruto held back the comment about how a sore muscle really wasn't worth the waste of chakra, and just let the other do what he wanted. Humouring him seemed to end in fewer arguments anyway.

"Why the hell did you walk in here unaided?" Sasuke growled at him. _But apparently I can't avoid this one_.

Sasuke removed his hand and continued to glare at Naruto, but there was something expectant about it, he was silently demanding an answer.

"I didn't want to bother you…" Naruto tried.

Sasuke's eye twitched. "For the immediate future, I am your caretaker. That means _I_ have to look after you and _you_ can only do what _I_ allow you to."

Naruto had tried to be civil, he really had, but that was just too much. "What kind of bullshit is that! I may need you to help me with things but that doesn't mean I'm under your control!"

"Well if your brain could function anywhere near a human level I wouldn't need to make these decisions for you." Sasuke had stood up again, and Naruto was highly aware of the fact that Sasuke's clenched fists were eye-level with his face. "How much of a dumbass are you to overwork yourself and potentially end up worse than before or in a coma on the bathroom floor!"

Naruto wished he trusted his legs to keep him upright if he stood up. "Well sorry for taking some initiative and trying to let the weird atmosphere we've been having air out before we had to deal with one another again!"

Sasuke suddenly closed off. Like a switch had been flicked all his anger and emotion was gone and in its place was a cold, detached façade. "Right. Then I'll let you have your privacy since you think you're capable enough to reach the shower."

Without waiting, Sasuke turned and left the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. Naruto stared after him before his eyes narrowed and he shouted, "You're a shit nurse, Uchiha!"

_Fucking asshole_.

Letting out a huff, he slowly began pushing himself into a standing position. This was undoubtedly going to be a day filled with long and pointless fights as the tension between them clashed in more and more volatile ways. _Maybe we'll end up working the anger out?_ Somehow he doubted it.

Naruto had spent his shower going over the problem that was his shifting relationship with Sasuke. Sure, they'd argued with each other a lot but not over _these_ kinds of things. What they fought about was meaningless banter that was forgotten at the end of the day. But this wasn't going away, in fact, it only seemed to be growing the more time they spent together.

He just wanted things to go back to the friendly banter they had been having two days ago - had it really been that short a time? He wanted to fix it and reverse the damage he'd done. But with Sasuke continually pressing his buttons, it was damn near impossible for him to do anything but either get mad or match the Uchiha's silence.

He supposed in a way it was good that Sakura was coming over. It not only gave him incentive to mend the problems he had with Sasuke, but if he couldn't achieve that then he was sure that Sakura would make sure they did before she left. Unless she thought the environment was bad for his recovery, then she could just as easily have him moved back to the hospital.

And shit. Wouldn't that be incentive for him and Sasuke to fix this ongoing problem? Of course, since he was the one to cause it all by… breaking that thing yesterday, it meant that _he_ would have to be the bigger man and suck it up by either apologising to Sasuke or finding a way to sweep it under the rug.

And if neither of those worked, well, he might just have to bring the issue up in conversation and confront Sasuke about it - and yeah, considering what had just happened didn't _that_ sound appealing?

Naruto gave a long-suffering groan. He was going to be fighting an uphill battle to make Sasuke tolerable again. He'd already been waiting and theorising for five minutes. _You'd think Sasuke would have finished breakfast by now_.

Putting his right elbow on his thigh, Naruto propped his chin up in the palm of his hand as he kept his eyes fixed on the door, waiting for Sasuke to walk in while trying to ignore his rumbling stomach. _If Sasuke expects me to walk all the way to the kitchen in some sadistic way to prove his point that I'm still unwell_,_ I'm going to kill him._

He was just beginning to plan - and visualise - the Uchiha's death when the homeowner in question finally opened the door. Naruto couldn't keep his remark back. "_Finally_. You kept me waiting here long enough, bastard."

Sasuke just gave a grunt and a glare in response before walking over to Naruto and pulling him into a standing position. They quickly adopted their now normal way of walking and began heading to the kitchen.

Deciding it was probably the best chance he'd get for a while Naruto tired to strike up a conversation while forcing all his anger aside. It wouldn't do for both of them to hold a grudge. "So, what's on the menu?"

"Fruit, pancakes and porridge," Sasuke answered simply.

_Strike one_.

"Right." Naruto groped around for another topic, "So do you know when Sakura's coming over?"

Sasuke's lips became a thin line as a small scowl furrowed his brows. He didn't respond to the question.

_Strike two_.

Getting annoyed, Naruto waited until they had turned down the hall that lead to the kitchen before throwing his attempt at harmony aside and asking his final question; his voice coming out bitchier then he intended, "Are you going to throw a shuriken at me again today?"

Sasuke stopped moving, one of his hands poised over the kitchen door. He words were clipped and his voice promised death if Naruto continued, "Why don't you just stop talking?"

_Ding, ding, ding. We have a winner._

"What? Don't you want to discuss it?" Naruto asked with faked consideration before his face fell back into a scowl. "Well that's too damn bad. You've been acting like a stuck up jerk since that happened so you've left me no choice."

Sasuke didn't respond other than to shove the kitchen door open and yank Naruto inside. He pushed him into a chair, moving much faster than Naruto's body could handle and making him take a few moments to catch his bearings as the kitchen decided to spin.

When he was able to focus fully, he quickly aimed his glare at Sasuke. "Yeah that's right, just fucking shove the sick and injured around when he can't handle excess amounts of _anything_, let alone chakra."

"That's your own damn fault for going in front of that blade," Sasuke spat back at him.

Naruto felt his eyebrows shoot upwards, not expecting that response or how much coldness Sasuke presented it with. His anger however, quickly overrode his surprise. "Well I'm _sorry_ for saving your life. Next time I'll just stand by and watch you get impaled by a sword!"

Sasuke snorted in disdain. "You'll always jump in and do some kind of stupid hero shit."

Naruto was so fuelled with rage that he quickly found himself standing up and pressing his palms to the table so he could glare directly into Sasuke's eyes. "I can't help wanting to save the people I care about!"

"That's not a good enough reason to disregard your own safety and the completion of your mission!"

Naruto was so mad, so furious with Sasuke that the biting words came out on there own according as he shoved them right back in Sasuke's hypocritical face. "Oh yeah? Well maybe _my body just_ _moved on its own_." His eyes were narrowed and his hands were clenched on the tabletop, "But go ahead Sasuke, tell me that was a stupid thing to allow myself to do."

Sasuke actually flinched at the words, and when he dropped his head so his bangs would cover his eyes, Naruto felt about two inches tall.

Sasuke took a long moment to respond, but when he did; his voice was emotionless until the last word, where it seemed weighed down with things Naruto couldn't comprehend. "So what? This makes us _even_?"

Naruto felt like he'd been punched, and he immediately began back-pedalling, "Sasuke, wait, no. It's not - that's not what I _meant_."

"Just forget it," Sasuke said harshly and headed towards the door. "I'm going to go train."

Naruto wouldn't be able to tell you how he managed to do it, but with all the strength he had, he closed the distance between them and grabbed Sasuke's arm. He didn't let the other respond as he yanked Sasuke around to face him, catching Sasuke off guard and making it possible to see his face.

"Listen here, Uchiha," he practically growled, "this is not about being _even_ or some crap like that. When we were in that clearing and I saw you in danger I didn't even _think_ before I was there to protect you. You can bitch about not needing anyone and about how stupid I was to do it, but I wouldn't reverse that decision for the world." Grabbing Sasuke's other shoulder before Sasuke got any ideas and moved away, he shook him slightly. "So stop being a closed off, asshole jerk over stupid things when we both _know_ that this friendship has a lot more going for it than our ability to argue."

Sasuke stared at him for a long moment, his eyes looking troubled and his lips twitching in a way that suggested he wanted to say something but wasn't sure what.

Staring at him, Naruto felt the undeniable urge to hug him; to comfort him and keep him safe from his own emotions… to just… hold. him.

_That's fucking weird_. A small part of him was adamant about that - but he just didn't even care anymore. They were already emotional enough as it was; what the fuck could he lose by adding to it?

Naruto couldn't think of one thing, so he wrapped his arms around Sasuke's shoulders and pulled him close; angling his head so he could smell the lavender of Sasuke's hair again. _It's just so pretty… like __him._

The thought made him frown a little, but when Sasuke's arms came around his waist and his heart gave a sharp thump, he figured that finding a guy pretty was the least of his worries at the moment. The bigger problem was that he was kind of thinking that… that maybe it would be really nice to kiss Sasuke right now.

Naruto squeezed his eyes shut and hugged Sasuke a little bit tighter.

_That just can't be good._

When they finally released each other almost a minute later - not that Naruto was hoping it would be longer or anything - they both sat down to a silent but mostly comfortable breakfast. There was some lingering discomfort in the air, but since most of their issues seemed to have been settled, neither of them picked at it. They just ate and stayed lost in their thoughts until they made their way to the gardens.

As they headed to the clearing they discussed the training methods Sasuke would be using today - or really, Sasuke talked about it and Naruto tried to pay attention and _not_ think about what had happened in the kitchen as well as _not_ acknowledging the _**bad idea**_ that was even just _thinking_ about wanting to kiss Sasuke. It turned out Naruto wasn't too good at that.

Sasuke put him under the same cherry blossom tree as yesterday, but it wasn't until Sasuke pulled out the shuriken from the trunk of the tree that Naruto managed to come out of his conflicting and confusing thoughts. Sasuke stared at the weapon for moment or two longer then was necessary before he dropped it beside Naruto. Without looking at him, Sasuke told Naruto that he was forgoing target practice today - he then went to the spot where he'd trained yesterday and began warming up with taijutsu.

Naruto watched him for the first ten minutes or so as he admired his technique and how fluid his moves were... but as Sasuke's movements became progressively more intense, Sasuke quickly peeled off his shirt and Naruto soon had to turn away. His eyes had kept falling to the way Sasuke's muscles moved, how toned he was and how the sweat glittered on his back in the morning sun... and so he'd made a point of finding the cherry blossoms entirely fascinating.

When that had become boring, Naruto had picked up the shuriken and began lightly playing with it, twirling it around his fingers and trying to practice the techniques he usually did so absent and easily. He had been so focused on making sure he didn't cut himself that it took a few minutes before Naruto registered the small flicker of his chakra.

His whole body froze before he hurriedly closed his eyes and began searching for it. The feeling was faint and probably imperceptible to anyone who wasn't looking for it, but it was definitely there and after almost a month without it, he could have bounced and laughed around the whole garden without a care. His chakra was coming back!

Despite the urge to do some kind of happy dance, he kept his jubilation contained and began focusing back on the shuriken. He was hoping some practical stimulation would help speed up the process of his recovery. Scooting backwards to put about a metre between himself and the wood, he focused on the weapon in his hand and began aiming the shuriken at the hole in the tree - where Sasuke had lodged it yesterday.

Throwing it with as much strength as he could manage, he managed to make the shuriken hit the tree only a few inches off the desired target. It didn't stay embedded in the bark for long - and had been a relatively slow throw - but Naruto was more than ready to count it as a victory.

Naruto quickly moved back over to the base of the tree and grabbed the weapon again. Naruto then went back to his previous spot and commenced his own training session. His plan was to do ten repetitions before switching hands, allowing himself intervals whenever any part of his body began to protest.

He was so intent on both preparing how he would gradually improve it over the coming days, and aiming and throwing the shuriken that he never noticed Sasuke stop his own training, frown and look around in confusion until he spotted Naruto. He only became aware of the other when Sasuke gripped his wrist before he could throw the shuriken for the sixth time.

"What the _hell_ are you doing?" Sasuke demanded.

Turning to Sasuke, Naruto didn't even notice Sasuke's tone, death glare or radiated anger as a smile broke out on his face. "I can feel my chakra coming back! I know it's not much, but I think watching you and doing some practical application is helping." He gestured at the tree. "I was catching cherry blossoms yesterday and then I started using the shuriken. I think if I talk to Tsunade we might be able to work out a training schedule I could start using."

Naruto was practically beaming when he finished and while he wasn't expecting Sasuke to be as happy as he was, Naruto was hoping he'd get some king of positive response. While Sasuke's face didn't necessarily _reveal_ or _show_ anything, there was a weight, an emotion to his posture that Naruto could read and it made his smile dim slightly. Disappointment.

_This means you'll be__ leaving. _

Naruto felt regret wash over him and wished he could bring himself to say the words out loud; _I don't want __to_.

"You always did heal quicker than everyone else," Sasuke finally said, breaking the quiet as he let go of Naruto's wrist.

Naruto's eyes moved to stare at a spot somewhere near his knee, and his voice sounded hollow when he tried to speak, "Yeah..." wincing a little, he forced his head up so his eyes were on Sasuke as he faked a grin, adding an enthusiasm that sounded anything but real, "and the sooner I get better the sooner I can kick your ass!"

The smirk that touched Sasuke's lips also looked like a shadow of its true self. "Keep dreaming."

_This_ _isn't us. I don't want to do__ this._

Naruto let the plastered on fervour fade from his face, and with a serious expression taking it's place, he made himself brush close to the subject they constantly avoided. "Maybe when I'm better," he glanced at the garden, "maybe we could train in here," he looked back at Sasuke with a slightly hopeful look, "together?"

Sasuke took a long time to reply, and even then his words sounded somewhat suspicious, "Us… here?"

Naruto blushed a little and scratched the back of his head. "Well, yeah. I mean - I know it's a really special place to you and that you don't let anyone in, but I've already been in here, right?" Naruto stopped, but Sasuke was still staring at him blankly making Naruto feel nervous and self-conscious as he stumbled forward again, "Look, I just want to train here-" _with you_ "-if you're okay with it. I'll even help you re-plant and tend to the garden if we damage anything. We're usually pretty good though now, right? And we're also close to showers and food and medical supplies so it just makes sense to..." he shrugged lamely as he finished, "do it here."

"Uh," Sasuke eventually mumbled, "if you want." He looked torn somewhere between incredulity and amusement.

Naruto beamed, his whole body drooping slightly in relief. "Great! It'll be so much easier then the training grounds." He chuckled slightly, "I don't know about you, but I'm getting sick of people standing around watching us."

A small smirk lifted up Sasuke lips. "More like you're sick of them watching you lose."

_And just like that, it's back to normal. _"Shut up, asshole."

He glared at the other, but it was mostly for show; Naruto was just happy things had turned out okay.

"So are you finished training?" he asked after a few moments, his eyes flicking to the spot where Sasuke's shirt still resided.

Sasuke shrugged. "Yeah."

Shooting him a look, Naruto was tempted to tell Sasuke off for continually cutting his training short, but he figured he could deal with a paranoid nurse Sasuke for a few more days rather then say something that could form another argument between them.

Naruto started to stand up, and once again Sasuke was quick to begin helping him. But unlike the other times this had happened, when Sasuke put one of Naruto's arms over his shoulder while his own arm went around Naruto's waist to hold his hip Naruto suddenly became very aware of how _shirtless_ Sasuke was and how_ close _he now was to Sasuke's _bare chest_.

He swallowed. "So, uh. What about your shirt?"

Sasuke looked over their shoulders at the item in question before giving a faint shrug. "I'll get it later."

They started moving towards the house and Naruto made a point of focusing on his feet. He was wracking his brain for any kind of conversation starter - something to get his mind off the feel of Sasuke's arms around him and muscles pressed to his side...

"What do you want for dinner?"

Sasuke's question shocked him out of his thoughts, but his head didn't seem able to wrap around it. "Huh?"

He shot Naruto an impatient look. "I'm cooking it. What do you want? Ramen?"

"I said I'd give it up for a year if I got out of the hospital," Naruto pointed out, unable to conjure up anything better to say.

"You're actually going to stick to that?"

Naruto scowled at him. "I don't go back on my word, asshole."

"I didn't expect that to apply when ramen was involved," Sasuke drawled.

The temptation was too great, and the mischievous part of Naruto's mind couldn't be contained as he stated casually, "Eh, it's not that good anyway."

Sasuke actually stumbled slightly, and Naruto couldn't help laughing at the shock that flittered openly across the other's face as he asked incredulously, "You don't like _ramen_?"

"It's okay. I just don't eat very much of it anymore." Naruto gave him a somewhat sheepish smile. "I kind of got sick of it."

Sasuke snorted. "The owner of Ichiraku has to be disappointed."

"Actually," Naruto grinned, "I've dragged so many people in there over the years that most of them now come in once a week for a few bowls. I've got almost all of the ninjas in Konoha addicted."

Sasuke let out a small chuckle, and Naruto's smile became a little softer. Sasuke laughed so rarely without malice, and he'd always liked the sound of his _genuine_ amusement. His face and eyes also softened when he did it. "Trust you to start a village wide ramen phenomenon moments before you give it up."

"What can I say? It's the world's way of evening things out," His tone was serious but his grin told anyone who was looking that it was mostly bullshit.

Sasuke shook his head. "You're an idiot, Naruto."

"And you're an uptight asshole, so once again our friendship has the world evening out."

_That's why you're perfect for one another. _The voice in his head somehow sounded incredibly smug. It made Naruto choke slightly as his grin slipped right off his face and he almost tripped over his own feet. _No, no. Bad __thoughts._

Hoping to distract himself, he glanced back at Sasuke, waiting for the response that would hopefully be biting enough that he could bat one back at the Uchiha. Unfortunately, Sasuke didn't seem to be in a talking mood anymore. He was focusing in front of them as the awkward air of earlier started to reform. _Fuck_, Naruto thought, _did I just manage to screw things up__ again? _

Looking at Sasuke from the corner of his eye, he felt his frustration bubbling up. _How the hell do I keep _doing_this?_

He knew that his own awkwardness stemmed from his newfound… attraction to Sasuke; but what was making Sasuke so jumpy?

Shit. He was probably going to need some help with this.

Naruto was wracking his brain throughout the walk back inside, trying to think of who he could ask to help with his problem. The list was impossible short - most people didn't even garner a second look. There simply wasn't anybody in his spectrum of friends who could understand Sasuke any better than he could; hell, he didn't even think any of them would be helpful when it came to his own emotional issues. There just wasn't many people who you could go up to and say, "Hi, I just realised I have a thing for my emotional stunted best friend and occasional enemy, Sasuke Uchiha. Care to help me out?"

Still, on the bright side, if there was no one who leapt to mind then he could just settle on the first person he saw that could keep a secret. Unfortunately, despite it being a ninja village there was a surprisingly short amount of people who qualified for that category when it came to gossip. He was almost surprised hidden scrolls managed to _stay_ hidden with the grape vine Konoha had.

Naruto couldn't help sighing a little when Sasuke put him down on the couch, but since it coincided with the ringing of the doorbell, he didn't think Sasuke noticed. When Sasuke disappeared into the house to answer it, Naruto realised with a jolt that _someone was here_ and he felt a small stem of hope begin flickering to life; could they help him solve it today?

After a few minutes - of somewhat impatient - waiting, Sasuke showed back up in a shirt with Sakura in tow. Naruto mentally sized his friend up. _Used to like Sasuke. Can actually keep a secret if you plead enough. Can scheme like the best of them. Won't kill - but may hit - you if the answer is obvious to her. _Naruto nodded internally. _Good __enough_.

"Naruto!" Sakura said happily, breaking the blond out of his thoughts as she hurried over and sat down beside him on the couch.

Reaching out she pulled him into a hug, making Naruto laugh. "What's the matter, miss me?"

Sakura rolled her eyes as she let him go. "Someone has to make sure Sasuke hasn't killed you and put a clone in your place."

"And it was necessary to hug me to prove this?" Naruto asked doubtfully, but with a hint of teasing still in his voice.

"A Shinobi has to be prepared to do even the most _horrid_ tasks to complete their mission," Sakura told him bluntly, but her eyes sparked with humour.

Naruto let himself grin. "Say anything you like, we both know that you're really just in love with me."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night," Sakura told him, but a small smile was slowly spreading across her face as she put her medical kit on her lap. It was gone in an instant however, as she shifted into professional mode and began examining him, "How have you been feel -"

Sakura's eyes widened and Naruto felt worry bubble up inside him, but before he could question her, Sakura's hand had darted out and grabbed his chin. Turning it to the side she pulled him forward and almost into her lap so she could look closely at his cheek.

"What happened?" She demanded, a finger from her free hand coming up to lightly touch the bandage on the side of his face.

Naruto winced a little. "Um," he searched around for a plausible excuse, but when he couldn't find one fast enough, he settled with a lame; "I cut myself shaving."

The look Sakura sent him was unnervingly similar to a sceptical and pissed off Tsunade.

"You cut yourself shaving." She intoned disbelievingly.

Naruto chanced the briefest glance at Sasuke as he sat on a chair across from them. The Uchiha was looking as blank and disinterested as ever and Naruto internally cursed Sasuke for refusing to be of any help whatsoever. "Yeah, I was… distracted."

"By?" Sakura prodded while ripping the material off his cheek, making him flinch slightly.

_Ow_. He was going to get her back for that.

Suddenly, like a light bulb going off over his head, he was hit by inspiration, and he sent her a roughish smile. "Well Sakura, it was just after a _shower_, you know? Where I'm _naked _apart from a _towel_ and I can't help it if the shapes of the fog on the mirror, and the _white _shaving cream give me _ideas_."

Sakura looked confused for a moment before she wrinkled her nose and whacked his shoulder hard enough to have him rubbing it and pouting. "Naruto! That's disgusting."

He laughed as she let his chin go with something like revulsion. "Hey, I'm just being honest about it."

"No, you're just being a pervert," she replied, giving a long-suffering sigh as she began checking the rest of him over.

"Women, you just don't get-ow!" He scowled as Sakura yanked his shirt up and off him. "Do you know how long your nails are?" He probably had scratches now.

Sakura however, didn't seem to care about his comments and began her examination. The faint touches of her chakra were moving over him as she concentrated, asking absently, "Has your chest been hurting?"

"No," he answered.

"Any fevers or trouble sleeping?"

He once again responded with a negative.

"Any fainting or dizzy spells?"

He paused. Did the first one count? They knew what had caused it and Sasuke hadn't seen fit to tell Sakura or Tsunade, so was it really important? _Would it get Sasuke in trouble?_ "No."

Sakura frowned, her hand withdrawing as she sat back, giving him a suspicious look. "Really?"

_Apart from that first time…_ "Yeah."

A smile spread across her face. "You're doing a lot better then I expected, Naruto. The Hokage will want to check you over herself, but you're definitely in no danger of a relapse."

Naruto grinned. "Hell yeah!" He turned to Sasuke without even thinking, "Did you here that, bastard? I'll be better in no time!"

The moment their eyes met, Naruto's felt his smile falter as the words landed between them like a lead weight; a_nd you'll be __leaving_.

Sasuke was the first to look away as he stood up. "I'm going to shower."

He was out of the room seconds later and Naruto's eyes followed him of their own accord.

"What's wrong?" Sakura asked.

Naruto went to open his mouth but Sakura cut him off with a stern glare. "And get directly to the point. This is obviously more then just an argument between you two, so I don't want to hear about how it began or how much you hate Sasuke. Just tell me what it's about."

_Damn_, _so much for easing into this, _went through his mind, shortly followed by _and I don't __always__ do that__._

Sakura was eyeing him impatiently, so he didn't vocalise any of those thoughts, he just watched her cross her arms while staring him down. Feeling nervous, he ran a hand through his hair, breaking the eye-contact to pull his shirt back on.

"Okay, well," he began, "Sasuke's been acting really weird and I don't know why. I just... he's so hard to figure out lately and... and," Naruto ran a hand over his face, "and I also think I'm starting to want to kiss him."

Sakura sat staring at him, seemingly frozen in shock, before she blinked it away and her eyes clouded with confused thought. They sat there for a long moment in silence, Naruto's stomach getting ever more filled with a churning mass of nerves the longer she kept her verdict to herself. When she finally focused on him again - what felt like minutes later - Sakura seemed wary but determined. "I think I'll need you to elaborate on that, Naruto."

He gave her a small, anxious smile; trying to get his head in some kind of order so he could explain it as quickly and thoroughly as possible; he was still paranoid that Sasuke would be coming back any minute and - _heaven fucking forbid_ - overhearing them.

Sending up a small prayer to whoever might be listening, he leant forward and started hurriedly recounting the last few days to Sakura.

* * *

**A/N:** Yes, you can all breathe a sigh of relief; I have _not_ given this chapter a cliffhanger. It still means that in four days you'll get the final chapter, but at least you're not glaring at me until then, haha. Anyway, I hope you liked this (and will like the last chapter too).


	8. Chapter 8

**Disclaimer:** The list of things I own are regrettably slim and nowhere on that piece of paper is there anything to do with the possession of the Naruto characters. They belong on a much bigger list that is not only unfortunately hard to steal but comes with a big, fat, heterosexual stamp on it. Life sucks that way.

**Full Summary:** Naruto gets severely injured saving Sasuke's life on a mission and even with his healing he's still in the hospital two weeks after the incident. The only way he can be allowed out is if someone's willing to take care of him. Sasuke may just be offering himself up for the task - but what's the catch?

**Pairing List:** Sasuke/Naruto

**Chapters:** 8/8

**Updates:** Each chapter should be posted every four days after the previous one unless outside interference prevents me from reaching the internet/computer to upload it.

**Beta:** "In eighteen years precisely the planets will align ever so nicely…" – "Aye, verse." WAIT, WHAT! I'm sorry; I was distracted, by my beta. But that's okay, since it's her a/n anyway. So let's all celebrate and give thanks to the awesomeness that is Lady Ivvy! She's so fast and so efficient that she's going to have me running out of work to give her soon D: But regardless of that, everyone applaud her and give her awesome shit, yeah? Please and thank you! Lol.

**A/N:** The final chapter. *wibble* Isn't it a sad occurrence? But nevertheless, it's been a fantastic month of updates. Thank you for every reviewer, person who favourited this, added it to a community and put it on their alerts. You've all made me want to keep going and posting further chapters. Thank you for all your kind words and support. *hugs you all*

* * *

_Chapter 8_

When Naruto finally finished - his voice having dropped considerably throughout the conversation as he'd glanced around the room fearfully - he slowly sat back against the couch again, and while biting his bottom lip, he surveyed his friend's reaction.

Sakura's mouth was open slightly and she looked somewhat amazed. After closing and re-opening her jaw a few times, she coughed politely and began smoothing out her skirt, trying to compose herself. "Well, that's... interesting."

"What?" Naruto asked, leaning in without even realising, "What's interesting? Do you know what's up with Sasuke? _Anything?_ Do you know what I can do? And what about how I'm, well, you know," he lowered his voice, "_feeling_," He quickly hurried on, "and then what about… hey! Why are you laughing?"

Sakura pressed her lips together tightly, trying not to smile at her friend. "I'm sorry, it's just." She sniggered slightly. "You really don't realise what's going on, do you?"

"What?" Naruto demanded, feeling all the more confused, "What's going on? _You_ know what's wrong with Sasuke?"

"Oh, Naruto," Sakura said softly, reaching out and patting his arm. "It's really obvious just… think about it."

"I _have_ been thinking about it," Naruto stressed, "I've been agonising over it for the last three days, didn't you _get_ that from everything I told you?"

Sakura rolled her eyes, seeming to have her amusement under some amount of control as she replied dryly, "Yes, Naruto. I noticed that."

"So then can you _help_ me?"

"Look," Sakura said carefully, "It's not exactly my place to explain what's going on. It's something you'll have to discover for yourself."

Naruto let out something that highly resembled a whine, but at this point he wasn't too sure if he cared. "But I don't _want _to. Can't you just tell me? I won't even mention your name! He doesn't have to know you helped me!"

Sakura softly shook her head. "Naruto that is something Sasuke _would_ find out and he'd be mad about it too - but besides that, this really isn't something I can help you with." Naruto went to protest but she held up a hand, "Trust me on this. And you will figure it out eventually. You just have to wait until you're ready."

"But-" Naruto started to protest, but when Sakura sent him a dark glare that made him want to flinch away on reflex, he finally - grudgingly and with a few internal obscenities- conceded. "_Fine_."

_Well, that was a big fucking waste of time_.

"Now as for your feelings about him-" Naruto hurriedly put his hand over her mouth, a blush forming.

"Shhhh," he hissed while glancing around the room worriedly, "Sasuke should be back any second. Do you want to make things even more awkward between us then they already are?"

Batting his hand away, Sakura scowled at him. "Never touch my face like that again, Naruto."

More then happy to latch onto a new strand of conversation, Naruto replied with a teasing smile that he didn't really feel, "How else would you like me to touch it?"

"Naruto," Sakura warned, "don't change the subject."

But Naruto was desperate, he could see something bad happening, specifically; Sakura saying something incriminating just as Sasuke walked into the room. So without any other options, he decided to do a whole lot of backtracking, "Didn't you say I should figure stuff out on my own? Maybe I should just go back to doing that?"

"You _asked_ for my opinion," Sakura pointed out with a huff.

"Well now I'm taking it back," Naruto proclaimed, making Sakura's eyes narrow, and he once again had that panicked feeling. _You didn't make her swear not to tell him!_ "Hey, you're not going to tell-"

His mouth quickly snapped shut as Sasuke came into the room. Naruto felt something like a whimper lodge in his throat. _How long has he been there? How long has he _been_ there?_

"Aha, hey Sasuke," Naruto said a little nervously, a hand going to rub the back of his neck, as his face heated up further, "that was a, uh, short shower."

Sasuke stared at him a little strangely. "I was gone twenty minutes." He looked between Sakura and Naruto suspiciously before his shoulders gained a small level of tension, his voice somehow becoming even colder and more detached than before. "Did I interrupt something?"

"We were just talking," Naruto began to deny, but when he saw Sakura about to reply as well, his alarm bells went off again and he hastily continued, "about, uh, personal… uh, just us, sort of… stuff. So do you think you could," he gestured vaguely at the doorway Sasuke had come through, "you know… give us a few more minutes?"

When he finished, Sakura was staring at him liked he'd gone insane while Sasuke looked like he was trying really hard not to be pissed off. "Whatever. You only need one person to watch you." He turned to Sakura. "Find me when you're leaving."

He didn't wait for another response as he turned and walked back out of the room, leaving the two of them alone again.

"Naruto, what are you-" Sakura started angrily, but Naruto quickly cut her off, leaning towards her and staring at her seriously.

"You have to promise me that you won't tell Sasuke anything about what we talked about."

Sakura frowned and started to protest. "Naruto, I-"

"_Promise me_, Sakura," Naruto demanded, his voice a quietly spoken command.

She still looked annoyed at him, but Sakura conceded. "I promise, Naruto." Naruto's whole body sagged with relief, but Sakura wasn't finished, "But I suggest you talk with him about it soon. At the rate your healing you'll be out of his care by sometime next week."

"I… I will?" Naruto murmured. His heart feeling like it was being squeezed painfully.

_If we're not sharing a house will he change? Will he go back to normal? Will _I_ go back to normal? …What if I don't want to? Does this mean I have to… confess?_

"There's no other reason for you to be here," she told him simply, cutting through the rush of questions going through Naruto's head.

"You," he hesitated, "you really think I should tell him?"

Sakura nodded. "Yes. At the very least you should let him know you're not in love with me." She narrowed her eyes at him. "Especially since you just made it look like we were having some kind of intimate moment when he walked in."

He grimaced; he hadn't meant to do that.

Sighing, Naruto agreed, "Okay, you're right."

His own feelings aside, Sasuke did deserve the truth on his relationship with Sakura. They were friends after all. But as for telling him the truth about his feelings… well, he had a week to decide about that... and about how Sasuke would react, and why he was acting so strange… maybe a week wasn't long enough.

"Do you want me to find Sasuke?" Sakura questioned.

Naruto started to nod absently, still considering what he was going to do, when he suddenly remembered something, "Oh wait! I forgot! I need your help with something."

Sakura eyed him suspiciously, and after the confession he'd just laid on her, Naruto didn't blame her. "What now?"

He smiled a little impishly. "The room Sasuke's got me in is so _boring_, Sakura. There's nothing but blue everywhere." His usual cheer and mischief was quick to flood back to him as he visualised it in his mind. "Can you get me a few things so I can," he smirked, "liven it up a bit?"

Sakura laughed, and like that, the serious atmosphere that had been hanging around them vanished. Opening up her medical kit, she pulled out a pen and paper. "You do know he's going to be less than thrilled when he finds out, don't you?"

"Yeah," Naruto answered cheerfully, "but that's half the fun."

Handing him the stationary, Sakura didn't make another comment, and Naruto happily uncapped the pen and started to write. Just until Sakura left, he could allow himself the luxury of pretending he didn't have a confession to spill or a time frame in which to do it in.

**-break-**

It hadn't taken long for Naruto to scribble out around twenty items for Sakura to get, and with a grumbled comment at the state of Naruto's handwriting, Sakura had teleported to his house, leaving Naruto to wait - under direct orders not to move a muscle and end up hurting himself - in the lounge room.

The regrettable problem for Naruto was that being alone in a lounge room and confined to a couch gave his mind the perfect opportunity to start badgering him into thinking about stuff he _really_ didn't want to think about. One of those things was the ever popular chant his mind had come up with of; _SasukeSasukeSasuke. Feelings. Sasuke. Weirdness_.

It was enough to make him want to bash his own head in. Talking to Sakura had only seemed to make it worse, the insistent voice was even more annoying than ever - he figured it was because Sakura had figured out whatever it had been hinting at. He'd even sunk so low as to reducing himself to snapping back at his subconscious; it had shut it up temporarily though, so that was a plus.

He just wished he was closer towards figure out what the hell he was going to do. Sure, he might have the first step - telling Sasuke he was over Sakura - but what about after that? He couldn't really see the continuation of that being, "yeah, because I'm actually in love with you."

Because that…

Naruto's whole brain screeched to a stop.

_Love._

There was no way… no - who the fuck said anything about… about _love._ It was… it was feelings, an infatuation - maybe - but not love. _Not love_. Never love.

"I don't love him," Naruto whispered firmly, resolutely. "I _don't_ love, Sasuke."

He felt a hand lightly rest on his arm and he jumped almost a foot in the air, snapping his head around to see them. But it was only Sakura so he felt his heart start working again.

Sakura's face was sympathetic even as she softly asked, "Who are you trying to convince?"

Naruto refused to answer, as he gestured at the bag in her hand. "Did you get it all?"

Sakura sighed lightly. "Yes, Naruto. I got it all."

"Then let's go then." He gave the best grin he could manage at the moment. "You can help me to the room, right?"

Sakura just nodded, not saying anything as she came around and wrapped an arm around his waist. They began walking to the room Naruto was staying in and after he had given her the directions, he quickly started a conversation; asking about how things in the village were.

Naruto was relieved when Sakura allowed it and they talked about their friends and their missions of late. She never brought up what she'd overheard, and Naruto didn't let himself think about how he wished it was Sasuke wrapped around him.

**-break-**

"No, no, put it higher!" Naruto said with a grin, watching Sakura scowl at him over her shoulder before she stood on tiptoes and put a mirror on the wall - using a faint trace of chakra to hold it in place before she applied blu-tack. **[1]**

The mirror itself was small a circle with the frame consisting of large triangular points spreading out from the centre causing it to resemble a sun - however, instead of a sun's typical yellow or orange; it was a mixture of purple, red and blue. Naruto was really hoping the blu-tack would hold it.

Looking around the room, Naruto had to smile at the many _colourful _decorations Naruto had watched - and okay, maybe directed - Sakura in putting up around the room. There were now posters, photos and various ornaments littering the walls and surfaces. He'd also had the blanket on the bed changed to one of his own; it was dark green with purple swirls on it. The blanket was huge, warm and wonderful to snuggle into.

Sakura had offered to bring other linen too, but he wouldn't allow it. Sasuke's sheets were the softest most heavenly thing he'd ever slept on. There was no way he was giving them up before he had to - hell, he was almost tempted to steal them and take them home with him. He hadn't mentioned that part to Sakura though.

Naruto had also made sure that everything he added could easily be removed and wouldn't damage the walls - he also hadn't tampered with any of the furnishings. All he'd really done was add some Uzumaki charm to the Uchiha sophistication.

"Are we done now?" Sakura asked, snapping him from his thoughts as she loosely held the empty bag in her left hand, her hands on her hips. She probably didn't want to teleport to his house again - he'd already made her do it twice.

Giving the room a more thorough look over, Naruto soon decided it was the best it could be without being cluttered. When his gaze landed on the bed however, he smiled slightly, and walked the few steps over to pick up the last photograph still laying there. He had been about to put it on the bedside table with the others - his job - when Sakura had distracted him with the clock.

Holding it, he lightly traced his finger over the frame, a small smile forming despite himself. It was of him and Sasuke not long after Sasuke had been accepted back into the village. Sasuke had just past his Jounin exams and Naruto had run up and tackled him in a hug from behind, clinging to his back and laughing happily in Sasuke's ear, his hands around the Uchiha's chest.

For all intents and purposes Sasuke looked pissed off at being climbed on, but thanks to the position of the photographer, Naruto could see the hint of a smile tugging at Sasuke's lips. It showed not only his pride at winning, but his grudging acceptance and amusement over Naruto's choice of congratulations - his hands had also gone to support Naruto's legs.

Naruto still wasn't sure who had managed to capture the picture without either of them noticing; all he knew was that they had sent it to him in the mail a week later. It had never left his bedside table since.

"Naruto?" Sakura questioned, and Naruto looked up at her, quickly flashing a grin as he started walking - _not_ stumbling, damn it! - towards the drawers.

"Yeah, sorry. It's perfect. Thanks, Sakura."

She frowned slightly before turning to look at the door. "Good," Sakura scrunched up the plastic bag and hid it in her pocket, "because Sasuke's coming."

Naruto barely had a chance to reach the dresser - photo frame still in his hand - when the door opened and Sasuke took one step inside before freezing in his place, his eyes darted around the room as his mouth formed into a thin line.

"Hey Sasuke," Naruto said happily, "we were just starting to wonder where you'd gotten to."

Placing the frame beside the other five already on the dresser, he made sure to put this one closer to the bed. When he turned back to look at Sasuke, he found the Uchiha had moved a few steps into the room, but he still looked displeased.

"What's the matter, Sasuke?" Naruto asked innocently, just barely keeping a snigger at bay.

Sasuke shot him a dark look before ignoring the question. "If you want to eat at all today you had better come do it now."

Naruto brightened, and he was moments away from an agreement when he realised what that would mean - _confession time_. Wanting to prolong it as much as possible, he turned to Sakura. "Do you want to join us? Sasuke makes the _best_ food."

She didn't do more then glance at Sasuke before she was shaking her head. "I had better go. I need to give my report to the Hokage," a wiry smirk was on her lips, "but thank you for the offer. I'll see you both in a few days."

Sakura disappeared in a swirl of leaves, and Naruto had no doubt she knew what he had been trying to do. When Naruto glanced at Sasuke though, he had to admit that the glare on the Uchiha's face might have also had something to do with Sakura's prompt departure.

"Uh…" Naruto began as Sasuke stalked over to him, "everything's removable?"

Sasuke paused in front of Naruto and flicked his eyes distastefully towards some of the decorations. "Whatever."

_Okay, not what he's pissed about_.

Reaching out, Sasuke started to pull Naruto into their usual position when he paused, his eyebrows furrowed slightly. Glancing in the direction Sasuke was focusing on, Naruto couldn't help but smile; the photographs.

He had more at home - three folders full of them - but these ones were his favourites.

There was the original one of Team Seven with Kakashi ruffling his and Sasuke's hair. One of the Rookie Nine - and Sai - that was taken a year and a half ago; when the others had finally accepted Sasuke back into the group. The next was one of him and Gaara when he'd gone to Suna a few months ago; it was the first time he'd managed to convince the Kazekage to pose for a photo.

There was another - more recent - photo of Team Seven only this one had Iruka in it as well. Then there was one of just him and Iruka - it had been taken just before he'd left to train with Jiraiya - and the final one was the one he'd only just put up. It was his favourite; where Sasuke was actually _accepting_ his embrace and just looking… happy. He liked seeing that.

"Who took that photo?" Sasuke asked quietly, and Naruto noticed Sasuke was looking at the same one as him.

"I don't know. I got it in the mail." Picking it up, he smiled at Sasuke and lightly tapped the glass protecting the image. "I'm still surprised you didn't throw me off, you know."

Sasuke gave a small grunt before looking away, making Naruto roll his eyes and put the frame back on the dresser. His was expecting Sasuke to start pestering him to leave for lunch again, but to his surprise, when he looked back at the other, Sasuke was glaring at one of the items hanging on the wall.

It was an ornamental scroll that he'd received for his birthday last year from Sakura. It was a poem written by an unknown ninja about the trials and demons that you face in your life and how they will forever haunt you. Yet how you find love, respect and friendship in your fellow ninjas, as well as the pride you feel in protecting your village and fellow team mates. Ever since he'd first read it, Naruto had found it utterly beautiful, so when Sakura had handed the scroll over with a smile, he'd ended up hugging her for almost five minutes.

Naruto had thought Sasuke would like the poem.

Tilting his head to get a better look at his friend's face, he leaned close to him and asked curiously, "… Are you okay, Sasuke?"

"You didn't get my permission to hang things up in here," Sasuke snapped out.

Naruto felt his eyes widen and he felt matching agitation start to form. "You said you didn't care five seconds ago!"

"This is _my_ house," Sasuke said, rounding on him, "and I don't want _them_ hanging on _my_ walls."

"What the fuck switched you from 'decent best friend' to 'completely psychotic asshole'? It was just a bit of colour, what's so offensive?"

Sasuke glared. "I don't want some love poem on my wall making you gush about your damn girlfriend!"

Sasuke snapped his mouth shut tightly, and a small part of Naruto was sure that Sasuke had wanted to say more but he'd cut himself off - but that was a tiny and mostly ignored part of Naruto, because the rest of him was too busy gaping at Sasuke to notice it.

"_What?_" He blurted out; his mind not sure where the dots Sasuke was - apparently - connecting had come from… apart from, you know, _another universe_.

"_Nothing_," Sasuke hissed out and Naruto would bet money that he saw Sasuke's Sharingan take over his eyes for a moment.

_Okay, think Naruto, think_. _What did he mean?_

Hurriedly running through everything that could possibly have happened, he suddenly remembered what Sakura had told him. _You should let him know you're not in love with me._

Naruto blinked, and before he could stop it a disbelieving snort escaped, making Sasuke shift his glare to Naruto's face.

"I'm not dating Sakura, you asshole." Naruto crossed his arms and glowered at him. "I'm not even in love with her anymore. I don't know why you'd give a shit in the first place, but that poem happens to be my favourite piece. It has nothing to do with _love_. I just wanted a copy of it." Sasuke's face was emotionless again, but the lack of anger wasn't enough to discourage Naruto's, in fact it only made it burn brighter. "But fine, _Uchiha_, if you want all _my_ things out of your house, then what else can I do but _oblige_ the person stuck with me as a mission."

Ignoring the pain in his legs from being overworked, he marched towards the other side of the room and ripped down one of his posters. He heard it tear, but it only fuelled his fury as he threw it to the ground and started walking towards the next one.

However, Naruto - too consumed by his rage - didn't notice that the direction he was heading was where the poster had fallen, and when his already wobbly legs tried to move across it, his feet - inevitably - slipped on the glossy paper.

Naruto felt his eyes widen as he tipped backwards. _Fuck_. He closed his eyes, bracing for the impact he knew he couldn't avoid. But instead of landing on a hard wooden floor, he felt arms encircle his waist and stop his movement. Naruto snapped his eyes open and found himself looking into Sasuke's concerned and _very close_ face.

Naruto swallowed thickly as Sasuke's arms tightened around him, and instinctively, Naruto reached out and grabbed Sasuke right shoulder with one hand while the other went around his friend's back, pulling himself further away from the floor - and closer to Sasuke.

He could smell lavender around him, and Naruto's breath was a little shaky when he exhaled. Sasuke still hadn't looked away from Naruto's face or tried to stand them upright.

Naruto didn't know what to do, and before he could stop himself, he whispered softly - shyly; feeling embarrassed and warm while his heart pounded a mile a minute. "Thanks."

The same intensity from the garden suddenly formed around them, and Naruto felt like he was shaking even when he knew he was perfectly still. He could sense the moment was reaching its peak - the crescendo was coming, and despite his nerves erupting in the form of butterflies in his stomach, he didn't move, didn't speak, he just waited for Sasuke.

Everything went still - he would swear the world stopped - before, in an instant, Sasuke had closed the ever decreasing gap between them and the softest kiss was pressed to Naruto's lips.

Naruto felt his heart melt before his mind exploded. His eyes quickly widened as everything clicked, and he froze in place as wave after wave of realisation washed over him.

_He's in love with you. That's why he's been acting so weird. He's in __love__ with you, he's __**kissing**__ you and you're in love with him too._

His mind was so busy going around in stunned and giddy circles that he couldn't stop focusing on, that the only time everything managed to freeze was when the warmth - love, joy, happiness - pulled away and his eyes snapped open to find Sasuke had stood them up and was taking slow steps away from him, his face hidden by his bangs.

"I'm sorry," Sasuke murmured and even the tight control he had on his emotions wasn't enough to keep all the desolation from his voice. "I'll have the Hokage assign you a new carer before the end of the day."

Naruto felt the internal tremors start to spread throughout his body until they were visible, and he honestly wasn't sure if it was his reaction to the kiss, Sasuke's words or his sore muscles that was causing it. Regardless of the source, it was enough to catch Sasuke's attention, and he noticeably hesitated before he carefully walked over to Naruto and with the barest of touches, he helped him to the bed. Naruto was still too incoherent to do anything but allow Sasuke to practically carry him and sit him down. When Sasuke moved away from him again, it was enough for Naruto to finally find his voice.

"Sasuke…" He licked his lips, only to start when a voice - _that_ voice - snaked into his mind, informing him that he was technically licking _Sasuke_ at the moment and he felt himself blush.

But apparently he was once again too quiet, because Sasuke spoke up. "Just… forget it, Naruto. I'll go talk to the Hokage and-"

"No!" Naruto quickly interjected, and he had to resist the urge to reach out and pull Sasuke towards him so he couldn't teleport away.

Sasuke lifted his head enough to give Naruto the first look at his face. He may have only _looked_ confused, but Naruto felt his heart clench at Sasuke's eyes; they were trying so hard to be closed off, but God, they were so pained underneath it all.

_I want him_. He realised suddenly. _I want to kiss him, hug him, love him, _live_ with him, make him feel better. I __want__**him**__._

"Come here," Naruto requested quietly, gesturing at the spot beside him on the bed.

He could see the uncertainty cross Sasuke's face, but he didn't push it, and after a few moments of deliberation, Sasuke slowly walked over and sat down beside him. Naruto reacted instantly and leant over, wrapping his arms around Sasuke's neck and hugging him.

Burying his face in Sasuke's neck, he breathed in the smell of the lavender, his eyes closing in contentment. When he felt Sasuke's arms cautiously return the gesture, a small sigh escaped Naruto, and Sasuke's arms got tighter in response and Naruto smiled when he realised it was to try and hide his shudder.

_Hah! That's why he shivered that night on the bed…_ he grimaced. _Damn, I really was kind of torturing him, wasn't I?_ His eyes widened. _I still am._

"Sasuke," Naruto said quietly, tilting his head so he could speak into his friend's ear, "I'm in love with you too."

For a long moment, Sasuke didn't react, but then he slowly moved a hand up to press against Naruto's back, tracing it lightly while bringing him closer. It took Naruto a moment to realise that his hand was covering the area the sword had gone through, and he smiled softly; he had a feeling that was the closest he was going to get to a confession from Sasuke for a while.

Feeling a hand on his neck, Naruto pulled back so he was sitting in Sasuke's lap - making it easier to see the other's face. Sasuke's hand moved up to his jaw before brushing along his cheek, just under the shuriken cut.

"Took you long enough," Sasuke muttered before adding affectionately, "idiot."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah; it would have helped if you weren't difficult as hell to decipher and-"

He was suddenly cut off as Sasuke leant forward and kissed him. Naruto quickly shut up and moved his hands to curl them into Sasuke's hair. He let out a surprised but happy sound to find the strands were soft, not even the tiniest hint of a hair product.

Pulling back, Naruto was about to make a comment about it, but he stopped when he saw the smallest smile playing at Sasuke's lips. His own quickly formed to match it, and he was weighing up the pros and cons of kissing Sasuke's away when his thoughts, the mood and Sasuke's smile was broken by the sound of Naruto's stomach rumbling.

Sasuke's usual smirk shifted into place as well as the raising of an eyebrow.

Naruto scowled at him. "Oh shut it, asshole."

"Just because you can't control your bodily functions-"

"Because I what?" Naruto interrupted, "You're the one who hasn't fed me! It's all your fault I'm starving."

"I _offered_ lunch," Sasuke countered, "You're the one who decided to rip down posters and fall over."

Naruto huffed and crossed his arms. "That was your fault too! You and your jealousy over Sakura-"

Sasuke once again cut Naruto off with a kiss, but Naruto didn't let it last long as he pulled back and glared at Sasuke incredulously. "Are you seriously going to resort to kissing me to shut me up?"

The only response Sasuke had was to press his smirk to Naruto's pout, but instead of letting Naruto pull away, he put a hand behind his neck to hold him there.

Naruto went to grumble out a few obscenities, but Sasuke quickly used the advantage to deepen the kiss, causing a small whimper to escape Naruto's mouth instead of the 'asshole' he'd been going for.

And when the voice that had been bugging him for days chimed in with a '_you're supposed to be mad at him and hungry, you know?_' he quite easily - and without any remorse - flipped it off and tugged Sasuke closer.

He could solve those problems later; after all, playing by ear had always been his best strategy, and it did give him the _best_ results.

_-fin-_

* * *

**A/N:** Oh hey, there you go, a happy, flappy cliché SasuNaru ending… but considering the whole story was a happy, flappy cliché SasuNaru fanfiction, I think all you loyal readers will be willing to let it slide, haha.

But anyway that's it for me on this story, no 'Sasuke's POV' or 'epilogue' this is how it's ending. In the future there may be edits (especially when my beta gets back to me) and even chapter extensions, but generally this story will stay the same.

I hope you've enjoyed it and I hope you'll keep an eye out for my name in this fandom because I can promise you that more stories will be coming from me (even if they may take a while since RL is a bitch and all) but I'll also post the occasional oneshot.

Thank you for your time and interest. Please tell me what you've thought of my story :)

**Number Notes:**

**[1]** - I honestly didn't know what else to use since I couldn't see her wasting chakra to hang everything and I didn't know of anything else that wouldn't damage Sasuke's house. If you guys have any better ideas, just let me know and I'll change it.


End file.
